Daughter of the Sea
by BrianaValdez167
Summary: Briana is a talented fifteen year old artist with a love of water. What happens when she moves from Miami to New York and attends Goode High School? What happens when she meets Grover, Percy and the rest of the gang? What happens when she runs into a girl named Sarah on a Broadway set? Leo/OC, Nico/OC, some Percabeth, maybe more.
1. Welcome to NY!

**A/N: I decided to start another story. Don't hate me! Remember, this story is purely for fun, and it's actually about me if I were a demigod. Give it a chance?**

**By the way, I actually don't live in Miami, so don't go randomly stalking people trying to figure out who I am. That would be creepy O_O**

**I'm going to switch POV's quite a lot. Sometimes mine, sometimes Percy, maybe Annabeth, sometimes Sarah (she's by bff and other OC), and others**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO... yet.**

**Rick: You will never own it!**

**Me: Don't crush my dreams!**

* * *

****~Briana~

I added another brushstroke to my already colorful wall, forming a new blue swirl to my endless designs. My room was already painted all over with random designs, scenes from animated movies, and some famous landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge.

My mother had always said that she knew I was born to be an artist ever since I had first gotten my hands on a box of crayons.

Despite being only fifteen years old, I had already been invited to Broadway to help paint the props. My art teachers from middle school had sent in letters of recommendation, saying that I had a natural talent.

The weird thing, though, is that I've always had this thing for drawing fish, dolphins and other sea creatures. I feel like I can understand them, if that makes any sense. I've only told this to my mother, because anyone else would've probably thought me to be crazy, but she had just smiled sadly at me.

See, my father loved the sea, that is, before he left my mother. She thinks that's why I love drawing sea creatures. The salt water is supposedly in my genes.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a yell from downstairs.

"Briana! Abby's here!"

I sigh and finish my swirly blue pattern on the wall, and set my paintbrush in a cup of water on my desk. "Coming mom!"

I quickly throw my chocolate brown hair in a loose ponytail, grab my suitcase, along with my carry-on (which is just full of paintbrushes, sketchbooks, pencils and bottles of paint), and make my way downstairs.

See, I had accepted the job as set design artist on Broadway, which means I'm moving to New York.

That also means my mom has already paid for my apartment up there (she's not rich, but she insisted anyways), and that I've been transferred to Goode High School.

I slipped on my gray converse and tied the laces. I was only wearing ripped jeans and a blue v-neck, but I liked to wear simple things and left the creativity to my paintbrush or pencil.

I gave my mom a goodbye hug and carried my bags out the door. I walked down the driveway to Abby's car and threw them in the back, then hopped in, riding shotgun.

Abby grinned at me. "Hey there, cuz! Ready to rock it in the Big Apple?"

Abigail is my crazy seventeen year old cousin, the daughter of my mom's sister. She and I have been best friends since I was born. She looks a lot like me; chocolate brown eyes and hair, and a pretty awesome tan (what else would you expect when you live on the beach in Miami?).

We had practically lived at each other's houses, always having sleepovers and watching Disney movies.

Her personality is quite a lot like mine. We both are pretty outgoing and creative; she just channels her creativity by writing. She's very talented, I might add.

Having an awesome cousin who's a junior in high school sure helps with freshman teasing. Sadly, I'd have to deal with that all over again in sophomore year at Goode, especially since I'm going to be arriving during the middle of the school year, but I plastered a smile on my face anyways.

I beamed back at her. "Ready as ever, Abbs!" She laughed and backed out of the driveway as I gave my mom, who was standing on the porch, one last wave.

Abby turned up the radio, blasting the song 'Radioactive' by the Imagine Dragons through the speakers as we sang along.

* * *

Sooner than I wanted, we had arrived at the airport. Abby helped me get my suitcase out of the back, and we set it on the ground. I gave Abby a hug.

She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. After what seemed like five minutes, she pulled away. "Text me everyday, okay? I want pictures!"

I laughed and punched her in the shoulder. "Duh! Of course I will, Abbs!" She faked hurt and rubbed her shoulder where I hit her, and I just rolled my eyes.

I gave her one last hug and walked into the airport.

Within no time I was on board the plane, sitting in my seat by the window as I watched the world pass by below me.

Man, a flight from Miami to New York ought to be long. I sighed, sagging back against the seat and watching a river snake by quickly before disappearing out of my line of vision.

I turned when I felt someone tap my shoulder. Sure enough, there was a boy who looked to be about nineteen or twenty, but only because of his wispy goatee. He had curly light brown hair and was scrawny, but seemed like a nice enough kid.

"Hi." I said to him. If it was a long trip, I might as well have a friend.

"Hey," he said. "I'm Grover Underwood. What's your name?"

I smiled at him and turned in my seat so that I could face him. "I'm Briana Willis. Nice to meet you."

Grover smiled back. "So you're going to New York?"

"Yeah, I got a job painting sets on Broadway. What about you?"

Grover looked surprised for a moment. "Broadway? Wow. You must be really talented then. You look about, what... sixteen?"

I laughed. "Fifteen, and yeah. Art sort of comes naturally to me, I guess."

Grover nodded and looked quite impressed. "Anyway, I was just visiting Miami. I'm heading back to New York, since I work at a summer camp there."

"Cool," I said. "Do you happen to go to Goode High? I am, and I don't want to be alone on my first day."

I really didn't want to go through the full-out new kid stage. I'd done it enough times before; I had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, but my dyslexia isn't the problem. I'd worked hard enough to where I can read three years above my grade level. It was mainly my ADHD, because I got distracted too easily, and weird accidents seemed to always happen when I was around.

For example, one time, in the middle of gym class in fourth grade, the water pipes from the bathrooms had exploded while I was in there. A girl named Jessie, the school bitch, had pissed me off, and I'd sort of heard a... wave in my ears. The next moment, Jamie was sitting on her butt beside the sink, soaking wet.

Similar things had happened at all the other schools I'd been to, and they always found a way to blame me.

Grover smiled. "I actually am going to Goode. I'd be happy to introduce you to my friends. They're all juniors, except for Jason, Piper and Leo. I assume you're a sophomore?"

I grinned. "Yep. Jason, Piper and Leo are sophomores too?" I asked, and Grover nodded.

Grover and I talked more about school and his friends, which included his girlfriend, Juniper, and Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Nico, and some others, which he'd all met at summer camp. I told him about my strange obsession with the sea, and his expression became thoughtful and a little alarmed, but it quickly reverted back to being at ease.

The plane ride passed rather quickly, and before I knew it, we were descending in New York.

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**Whatcha think? Review!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	2. Exploding Marshmallows and Pick-Up Lines

**A/N: CHAPTER TWO! Yay! I'm actually quickly updating this at my dance studio. Our fifteen minute break is almost over. Lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO!**

* * *

~Briana~

As soon as we'd gotten off the plane, we'd gotten our luggage and went our seperate ways, Grover promising me he'd show me around the school on monday.

I pulled my jacket tighter around my body. New York in winter is freezing compared to Miami. I hailed a cab, and showed the driver the address on the sticky note that my mom gave me. He nodded and helped me put my suitcase and carry on in the back, and I climbed in after.

When we arrived at the apartment complex, I paid the driver and got out, carrying my bags into the lobby. My mom had already given me the key to the apartment before I left, so I headed straight towards the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor.

I waited a minute, then the doors opened and I stepped out, walking and dragging my suitcase behind me until I came to apartment 417.

I unlocked the apartment door and strolled inside, closing the door behind me.

I looked around, silently thanking my rich cousins in Pennsylvania who had offered to decorate my apartment for me.

There was a plain blue couch with green and yellow throw pillows, along with a green chair on either side, all facing a decent sized mahogany coffee table in the center of the small living room. The walls were painted a light blue color, and the floor was dark hardwood with a white fuzzy rug under the coffee table. My cousins had actually gotten me a 56" flat screen TV, and all stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, along with granite countertops.

I was pleased with how well my cousins knew me.

I made my way to my bedroom, setting down my suitcase and art bag. I stood back to admire my cousins' handiwork.

There was a full bed against one wall, with blue covers and pillows. A dark wood nightstand stood next to it. A small circular white fuzzy rug was lying in the center of the room. There was a desk in the far corner, and I bookshelf next to it, already full of my favorite books. They left the walls blank. They knew me well enough that I'd paint on the walls every chance I'd get.

I sighed and collapsed on my bed, not even changing into pajamas. I'd unpack tomorrow after school.

Luckily, Goode is a walking distance from my apartment, so I don't have to take a taxi everyday. I quickly set an alarm on my phone, and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

~Percy~

I walked into the halls of Goode High School, and met my friends by my locker. Annabeth, Jason, Leo, Piper, Katie, Travis, Conner, Hazel and Frank had all transferred here after the end of the Giant War, so we always hung out.

Annabeth, Katie, Travis, Conner and I are all juniors. Jason, Leo, Piper and Frank are all sophomores, while Hazel is the only freshman out of the group, but we always hang out anyways.

When I got to my locker, everyone was crowded around something, muttering to themselves. As I got closer, I saw it wasn't something, but rather someone.

I grinned. "Grover! What are you doing here, G-man?"

Grover spotted me and waved as everyone else turned around. Annabeth gave me a peck on the lips. "Morning, Seaweed Brain."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and smiled. "Morning, Wise Girl."

She was wearing a plain pair of jeans and a gray v-neck, but that just made her all the more beautiful to me. Her golden curls glinted in the light and her gray eyes were as calculating as ever.

Annabeth leaned into my side. "Grover's here because he suspects there's a new demigod here. He met her on his way back here from Miami."

Grover nodded and turned his gaze to something behind me. "There she is; be right back." He said before sprinting off on his fake crutches.

I looked around, and noticed that a few of my friends were missing. "Where are Travis, Conner and Leo?"

Both Katie and Annabeth opened their mouths to answer, but the sound of an explosion from the direction of the science lab down the hall interrupted them.

Hazel winced. "I think they're in that science lab."

Her suspicions were confirmed when Leo and the Stolls came stumbling out the door and down the hall towards us, covered in some kind of white goo.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you three?"

Travis grinned. "We wanted to try microwaving marshmallows." Conner and Leo nodded, both grinning wildly at the commotion in the science lab while Katie smacked Travis on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for, Katie-Kat?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that."

Annabeth shook her head, smiling. "Anyways, Grover told me he thinks this girl could be a child of one of the big three."

I was taken aback. This girl could either be a half sister to me, Hazel or Jason. If she's in high school, that would mean one of the big three had broken the oath before the Titan War.

Before I could say more, Annabeth motioned behind her. "Here they come."

I turned and saw Grover walking up with a girl who looked to be about fifteen. She was pretty, with wavy dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She also had a nice tan, close to Annabeth's.

Before any of us could say hi, Leo stepped forward. "Wassup, girl? If beauty was time, you'd be eternity." He said, while smoothing back his curly hair. The girl rolled her eyes while the rest of us busted out laughing.

Grover calmed down enough to introduce us. "That was Leo," he said, "and that's Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Travis, Conner and Katie."

Travis held his hand out, making a 'stop' gesture. "Hold up. I'm Cravis and he's Tonner, duh!"

Katie smacked him on the back of the head, then gave the new girl an apologetic glance. "Sorry about that. Ignore him."

Grover cleared his throat. "Anyways, guys, this is Briana."

She smiled and waved shyly at us. "Call me Bri."

Before we could say anything more, the lights in the hallway suddenly flickered off. We all looked at Leo and the Stolls, who were smiling evilly. Great.

While everyone was distracted, I took a glance at Briana. She didn't distinctly look like any of the big three, which led me to believe that she must've gotten most of her traits from her mother.

Great. Annabeth's smarts must've rubbed off on me.

Leo marched out into the middle of the hallway, pulling a wrench out of his magic toolbelt (yes, he wears it to school. Don't ask), and twirling it around his index finger.

"Leo Sexy Valdez is here to help, people!"

A few juniors and seniors snickered, while some freshmen raised their eyebrows. Leo pulled a desk out of the sophomore history classroom, stepped up on it, and used his wrench to fix the lights.

The lights flickered back on, and the students cheered, except for our little group, who just rolled their eyes.

This is going to be an interesting week.

* * *

**Review!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	3. Whipped Cream and Broadway Sets

**A/N: Wow, chapter three already? I'm on a roll! Anyways, there's a teeny little time skip from last chapter. I hope ya'll like this chappie :)**

**Disclaimer: **

**Pomegranates are red, **

**Percy's food is blue, **

**I don't own PJO, **

**believe me, it's true.**

**R&R!**

* * *

~Leo~

The rest of the week passed rather quickly. Travis, Conner and I set off fireworks in front of the school on Wednesday (we ran away from the crime scene, so no detention. Yay!).

The new girl, and possible demigod, Briana, had pretty much the same schedule as me, except she has art for fourth period instead of shop, which is what I have.

I know I've hit on a lot of sexy chicks, including Jason's sister Thalia (that chick was scary), Bri made me feel... different. I was sort of drawn to her. I mean, if I had great social skills, I'd probably talk to her a lot more often. But I don't have a lot of social skills (thanks, dad), but Bri and I had grown pretty close over the past week.

I met all my friends in the cafeteria for lunch, at our usual table. Bri had been sitting with us since her first day, and I'm pleased to say that she somehow always ends up sitting next to me (not that I had anything to do with that).

Briana sat next to Percy. On Percy's other side was Annabeth, then Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel, Katie, Travis and Conner. The table's circular, which left only one seat, in between Conner and Briana. This is how we always sit at lunch.

I sat down next to Briana, and nudged her. She swallowed her bite of peanut butter and jelly sandwich and glared at me. "What?"

"Watch this." I said, pointing to the left cafeteria door. Since the cafeteria has double doors, I decided to plant a bucked of whipped cream on the left side, since everyone always comes through the right door. Being a son of Hephaestus, it was pretty easy for me to place the bucket up there. The next person to come through the left door would be creamed. Literally.

And that person just happened to be the history teacher, Mr. Michaels.

The teacher pushed the door open, triggering the bucket, which landed with a thump on his head. Mr. Michaels was soon covered with whipped cream from head to toe.

Our entire table busted out laughing, along with most other students in the cafeteria. Bri was clutching her stomach, and the Stolls gave me high-fives.

"VALDEZ!"

Mr. Michaels came marching up to me. I plastered an innocent and surprised look on my face, which I had perfected over the years. "Yes, Mr. Michaels?"

He wiped some cream off of his face, splattering it on the ground next to Katie's feet. "A bucket of whipped cream? Really?!"

I smirked inwardly. "Whoever pulled that prank must've put a lot of thought into it, huh?"

I heard Briana giggle slightly, and I flicked her knee to make her stop. Mr. Michaels frowned and turned away, walking out the right cafeteria door and disappearing down the hall, probably to go watch video feed from the security cameras. Too bad he wouldn't find anything (cue evil laugh).

Briana turned to me. "Wow, Leo. Whipped cream?"

I flashed her a smile. "It was pretty awesome, wasn't it?" I grinned as she rolled her eyes.

"Won't he find video evidence from the security cameras?" Annabeth asked.

"Nope." I said, then went on to explain how I had taken video feed from yesterday and used it to replace that short time during second period that I set up the prank.

Briana lightly smacked me on the shoulder. "You're a freaking genius."

I laughed and stole one of her chips. She didn't mind, really. We stole each other's food all the time at this table, and Bri had gotten pretty close to all of us.

"We have to try that prank at camp," Travis said. "Leo, can you help us set it up?"

I grinned and replied. "Sure! We can set it up on the door to the Ares cabin. They hate pranks."

Katie smacked Travis on the back of the head. "The Ares kids will kill you!" Katie pointed out. Travis pouted, and Katie rolled her eyes but kissed him on the cheek.

"Ares kids?" Briana asked, a confused look on her face. I internally facepalmed. Stupid me, she doesn't even know that she's a demigod!

Piper glared at me from across the table. Thankfully, Annabeth saved the day . "It's a camp thing. How we organize people into cabins."

Briana nodded, probably not quite believing us. The bell rang before she could answer, signaling the end of lunch. We all stood up, throwing away our trash, and all made our way to our next class.

* * *

~Briana~

After school, I asked Grover for a ride to Broadway street, since I don't have a car, or a license yet. He had agreed and we were now driving towards the sets.

"This must be exciting for you." Grover commented, keeping his gaze on the road.

I smiled. "Yeah. It's not everyday a fifteen year old is asked to design sets for Broadway."

Grover laughed. "Nope. Do you mind if I stay and watch? If I don't, I'll probably be bored out of my mind at home." He asked.

"Sure," I replied. "I need a ride home anyway."

Grover visibly relaxed, as if I was going to be in danger unless he was there. Little did I know how right this assumption was.

Pretty soon, I was painting the design of a castle wall on a large, tall, almost flat, piece of rounded cardboard. It's supposed to be a tower of a castle.

"Hey, are you new here?"

I turned towards the sound of the voice. A girl about my age was standing there. She had strawberry blonde hair that went just below the shoulders, and had grayish-blue eyes. She was holding a thick script in her left hand, so I assumed she must be one of the actresses.

"Yeah. I'm Briana." I answered. She smiled at me before introducing herself. "I'm Sarah. I'm an actress here, but for now I'm just an understudy for the lead."

I nodded. "I'm the new set design artist. I just moved from Miami last week."

Grover cleared his throat, and I jumped. I had almost forgotten that he was there. "Oh, Sarah, this is my friend Grover."

Grover smiled, and Sarah nodded in greeting. Grover's gaze seemed to narrow, as if he had just realized something to do with Sarah.

"Nice to meet you, Grover."

Grover blinked and the smile returned to his face, masking his curiosity and alarm.

I continued to paint gray bricks on the cardboard, while Sarah and I talked about anything and everything we thought of. I learned that she was fifteen, like me, and had always wanted to be an actress on Broadway, since she was young. She also seemed to be the smartest person here, despite the fact that there were many other older actors and actresses milling around. I told her about my love of art, and the ocean.

I also learned that she has dyslexia and ADHD, just like me.

Pretty soon, the time had come for me to leave. Grover and I were just about to bid Sarah goodbye, but we were interrupted. A loud crash sounded from out on stage, as well as the sound of screaming people.

Grover, Sarah and I rushed out from backstage to see what the commotion was.

In the middle of the stage was a large monster looking creature, with greenish blue scales. It was spitting something, probably acid, since it was burning holes in the stage floor. I counted about five heads total.

I wasn't too great at Greek mythology, but even I knew what the creature was.

A hydra.

* * *

**Wow! Cliffhanger! Sorry, I had to. Don't kill me.**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	4. Hydras, Camp, and Death Breath

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter! I probably would've posted this chapter on Saturday or something, but Sarah forced me to post it tonight, so... TADA!**

**Disclaimer: I'm fairly sure I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. Just saying.**

**R&R!**

* * *

~Sarah~

Briana, Grover and I faced the beast. I knew it was a hydra, I just didn't know that hydras were real.

This monster had green-blue shiny scales, and looked very reptilian. It spit large globs of acid, melting holes in the theater floor and turning front row seats into puddles of goo.

I felt a surge of anger; this was Broadway. I had practically run away from home, following my dream of becoming an actress. I lived in an apartment with a fellow actress. I've been acting since I could talk. Theater is my home, and I can't let that beast destroy it.

"How do we kill it?!" Briana shrieked. Grover pulled out something that glinted, like metal.

A dagger.

It looked to be a strange bronze color, not quite bronze, but not quite gold. He tossed the dagger to Briana, who caught it by the handle in her right hand.

Grover turned to me. "Go find some way to make fire! Go!"

I turned on my heel and ran backstage and out the back door. I unlocked my roomate's car, using the spare car key she had given me, and opened the glove box. Sure enough, there was a spare lighter in there for emergencies.

I grabbed it, and using my common sense, figured that a little lighter couldn't scare a hydra off very easily.

I shut the car door, not bothering to lock it, and rushed to a nearby tree. I ripped off a long, but thin branch with plenty of leaves on the end, and set the leaves on fire.

I rushed back inside the building, careful not to let the fire touch anything. Finally I dashed back out on stage, and saw that the hydra had cornered Grover.

* * *

~Briana~

As soon as Sarah ran off, Grover turned back to me.

"Don't cut any heads off yet; two more will just grow back."

I nodded. I already knew this; my mom had always loved Greek mythology. I wasn' t that great at it, but I still knew a lot more than the average person.

The hydra turned one of its heads, and I realized it must go by smell and sound alone.

It must've heard Grover shout. The hydra turned all its heads towards Grover and spit a wad of acid. He jumped to the side, and landed against a wall. The hydra advanced on him slowly, as if calculating which is the best way to kill him.

Just then, Sarah came dashing back in, holding a blazing tree branch. She had this wild look in her eyes, and I realized I must probably look pretty wild too.

"Cut off its heads!" Grover shouted. "Then burn the stumps!"

Sarah and I nodded at each other before splitting up. Sarah waved the fire in front of the hydra's heads, distracting it while I snuck up behind it.

The hydra's tail nearly swept me off my feet, but I lept over it at the last second. ADHD really comes in handy when you're fighting a mythological monster that shouldn't exist.

I sliced the dagger through one of its heads, and Sarah immediately pressed the burning branch against the stump. One down, four to go.

We repeated that process for heads #2 and #3.

I accidentally stepped the wrong way, and one of the spikes on the hydra's tail pierced my thigh. I screamed out in pain and collapsed on my knees, clutching my leg. It felt like a million poisoned needles had imbedded themselves in my upper thigh.

"Briana!" I heard Sarah screech my name when she saw me drop to the ground.

I shakily stood up and lunged out, slicing off head #4.

Grover raced over on his hooves- wait, hooves? Before I could comprehend what I was seeing, he had snatched the dagger out of my hand, and chopped off head #5. Sarah quickly burned the last stump.

Grover bent down next to me. "Oh no..."

I think Sarah bent down on my other side, but I wasn't sure, since my vision was so fuzzy. "It-it's just a stab wound, right?" Sarah tried to sound hopeful, probably for my sake, but Grover shook his head.

He whispered something in Sarah's ear, and I barely caught it:

"It's poisoned."

* * *

~Sarah~

I could feel myself choking up. I had just met Briana today, but she's already practically my best friend. I definitely didn't want her to die. Yet here she was, stabbed in the leg with a poisoned hydra spike.

Grover closed his eyes for a long moment. I wondered what he was doing, and was about to tap his shoulder, when his eyes snapped open.

"Blackjack, Porkpie and Guido should be coming soon. They're the pegasi; I'll explain it all at camp." Grover stated.

I looked at him, thoroughly confused, which is unusual for me. Pegasi?

"How did you get them to come?" I asked.

Grover turned to face me. "I have an empathy link with my friend Percy. I told him to send the pegasi. It was easy for him, since he can talk to horses."

Oh-kay. First, a mythological monster attacks us, then three pegasi are on their way to take us to a mysterious camp, and now Grover (who has hooves, I might add) has a friend that can talk to horses. Nope, not a weird day at all.

Finally, I hear the sound of three sets of hooves pounding on the pavement outside. Grover helps Bri stand up and we both support her weight on our shoulders, leading her backstage and out the back door.

Three winged horses are waiting for us. One is pure black, while the other two are white. I'm assuming Blackjack is the black one, since the name makes sense.

Grover and I ease Briana up on to Blackjack, and she wraps her arms around his neck, holding on tightly. I climb on to one of the white pegasi, while Grover takes the other.

Blackjack whinnied to the other two winged horses, and we were off into the sky.

I'm afraid Briana's going to fall off, but Blackjack flies smoothly, adjusting himself every once and a while so that she won't slip off. I cling to the mane of my pegasus, looking down at the buildings that are passing below us.

Pretty soon we've left the buildings behind, and I recognize Long Island Sound in the distance.

The pegasi start to descend, landing near a large two-story light blue farmhouse.

"Chiron!" Grover calls as his pegasus lands. I middle aged guy, with a brown beard, in a wheelchair, wheels out of the front door and over to us.

By this time, Briana is almost completely unconscious.

Teenagers are forming a crowd around us now, and a Latino boy with curly black hair and brown eyes pushes his way to the front. His eyes scan over all of us, and he gasps when he sees Bri.

"Briana!" He rushes towards me. "What happened to Briana?"

"She... she got stabbed in the leg," I can feel the tears at the corners of my eyes. "by a poisoned spike on the hydra's tail."

The guy in the wheelchair- Chiron- rolls towards us. "Leo, while your here, you could take Briana here to the infirmary." Chiron suggests, and Leo nods.

He carefully eases Bri off Blackjack, so that he's carrying her bridal-style. He sets off towards the large farmhouse, and Chiron tells a kid named Will to follow them.

Chiron then turns towards Grover. "I assume she's a half-blood as well?" He asks, nodding his head in my direction, and Grover nods.

For some reason, I find myself glancing around the throng of teens that have gathered around. I see a group of kids following Leo, Bri and Will.

One of the kids in the group has messy black hair and sea green eyes, and is walking beside a girl with curly blonde hair. Two boys, who look almost exactly alike, with light brown curly hair, are following them, along with a girl with straight brown hair, and another girl with choppy brown hair.

I continue to study the other kids, and my gaze stops on an emo-looking kid. He looked to be about my age, with long, messy black hair and dark eyes. He's pretty pale, but is dressed in black jeans, black sneakers and an aviator's jacket. He holds my gaze for a few seconds before I break eye-contact.

"Who would like to show her around?" Chiron asked, staring out at the group of teens.

The emo kid I just saw stepped forward. "I can, Chiron."

Chiron nodded, and turned back to talking with Grover. I turned and jogged over to the emo-looking kid.

We started walking around together, and thankfully the silence didn't last very long. "What's your name?" He asked me.

"Sarah Knap." I replied.

He smiled faintly. "Nice name. I'm Nico di Angelo."

Nico showed me around the camp, pointing out places like the Big House, where Bri had just been taken, the Mess Hall, the Amphitheater, the campfire, the forges, the Sword Arena, and the strawberry fields, and last but not least, the cabins.

He explained to me the whole demigod thing, and I can't say I'm surprised. After all, I never knew my mother, so it makes sense that she would be an Olympian goddess. I just wonder which one she is. I also wonder who Briana's godly parent is.

"My dad is Hades." Nico says. "Children of the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, are pretty rare. Percy Jackson, the guy who followed Will into the infirmary, he's a son of Poseidon."

"Are there any other children of the Big Three?" I ask, and Nico nods.

"My half sister, Hazel, is a child of Pluto, Hades's Roman aspect," Nico says. "Thalia, a friend of mine, is a child of Zeus. She's a Hunter of Artemis now, though. Thalia's brother, Jason, is a son of Jupiter, Zeus's Roman aspect."

I sort of understand the whole Greek/Roman thing. Nico's already told me about Camp Jupiter, the camp for Roman demigods.

"So when will I find out who my godly parent is?" I wondered aloud.

Nico shrugged. "Should be pretty soon. Technically, you and your friend Briana should've been claimed like two years ago, according to the deal from two summers ago. So maybe at the campfire tonight."

I nodded. Lost in thought. Who could my mom be?

I guess I'll find out tonight.

* * *

**What did ya'll think? Review! I'll give you blue cookies!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	5. Claimings and Crushes

**A/N: I felt inspired at four in the morning, so I typed this up. Why I'm just now posting it, I have no idea. **

**Sarah and Briana get claimed in this chapter! Yay!**

**I promise there'll be more Percabeth and maybe Gruniper in the next chappie. Stay tuned!**

**Disclaimer: I really don't own PJO, people. If I did, there would definitely be more Percabeth, and Percabeth wouldn't have been thrown in Tartarus.**

* * *

~Leo~

I set Briana down on one of the soft beds in the infirmary, and took a seat beside her. Will came in after us, holding a square of ambrosia and a glass of nectar.

"Art chick, you feeling well enough to drink this?" I asked Bri, and she nodded.

She shakily sat up and Will handed her the glass. She gulped it down within thirty seconds. "Mmm."

"Well," Will said. "She's definitely a demigod."

"No shit, Sherlock." I replied sarcastically.

I knew I'd have to explain the whole demigod thing to Briana. Because, I mean, who wouldn't be curious if you came to a mysterious camp on a pegasus from fighting a hydra?

"Demigod? Where am I?" Bri crossed her right leg, leaving her left leg stretched out so that Will could wrap it in gauze.

I took a deep breath. Here goes. "Well, you know the Greek gods? Like Poseidon, Zeus, Athena or Apollo?" I asked.

"Yeah, and the Greek myths are real? I mean, I just fought a hydra and rode a pegasus."

I clicked my tongue. "You're a smart chick, aren't you?"

She stuck her tongue out at me. "I thought you already knew that, seeing as we were in school together." She remarked.

I rolled my eyes and continued to explain. "Anyways, sometimes the gods hook up with mortals, and have kids, known as demigods or half-bloods."

Briana nodded, biting off a chunk of her ambrosia square and swallowing it. "So who's your godly parent?" She asked.

"Hephaestus," I grinned. "God of blacksmiths and fire. I'm the only demigod in centuries that can summon fire, which explains why I'm so smokin' hot." I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes and smacked me in the arm. "Is that why you were able to fix things so well?"

"Yup," I said. "Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Katie and the Stolls are demigods too."

"I'm not surprised." She said. "Who are their godly parents?"

"Percy's a son of Poseidon. Annabeth's a daughter of Athena, Jason's Jupiter's kid, Piper's a child of Aphrodite, Frank's a son of Mars, Hazel's a daughter of Pluto, Katie's one of Demeter's daughters, and the Stolls are children of Hermes."

Briana nodded. "Makes sense. But aren't Jupiter, Mars and Pluto the Roman forms of Zeus, Ares and Hades?" She questioned, leaning on her elbow and resting her head on her hand.

I quickly explained the Greek/Roman thing, and she seemed to get it rather quickly. Smart cookie.

"So who's my godly parent?" She asked curiously. I shrugged. "I dunno yet. You have to get claimed first."

"Oh, okay." She sighed and layed back in bed, wincing when Will finished his healing hymn to Apollo. "I'm exhausted."

"I'll wake you up for breakfast," I said. "'Night, Art Chick."

She closed her eyes and was fast asleep within two minutes. I walked out of the Big House, and made my way over to the campfire, since it's already starting to get dark outside.

I summoned a tiny flame on the tip of my index finger, so that I could see more. Normally, I'd stay cooped up in Bunker Nine and not go to campfire, but Sarah's supposed to get claimed tonight, so might as well go.

* * *

~Nico~

Sarah and I made our way to the campfire. She sat down next to me, since she really didn't know anyone else, and hasn't been claimed yet.

While we waited for campfire to start, I studied her. She has strawberry blonde hair that goes just below the shoulders, and grayish-blue eyes. She's fairly tanned, with a splash of freckles across her cheeks. She was only wearing some ripped jeans and a new Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, but managed to make even those look good.

I usually didn't come to campfire. I'd usually be chillin' in the Underworld by this time, but since I'd met Sarah, I felt compelled to get to know her better, and I wouldn't do that by disappearing to my father's realm.

Now that the Giant War was over, I found myself spending more and more time at camp instead of the Underworld, which is fine by me. Every time I go down there, I get forced to eat cereal by Demeter or Persephone turns me into some kind of flower.

I twisted my skull ring around my finger, not really paying attention to the songs that the other campers sang. Sarah wasn't singing either, probably because she doesn't know the words.

Soon the singing died down, and Chiron stood up in centaur form, holding up his hand to signal complete silence. "I'd like to welcome our new camper, Sarah! I would welcome Briana, but, rather unfortunately, she is still in the infirmary."

Just then, Leo came walking up, extinguishing the small flame on his finger. His hair was as messy as usual, and had a few grease stains on his shirt from working in Bunker Nine, and he was wearing his magic toolbelt, but otherwise he looked fairly normal.

"Mr. Valdez," Chiron waved Leo over. "How is Briana healing?"

"Right on, horse dude."

Chiron sighed and waved for Leo to go sit down. "For now, we shall just welcome Sarah."

Most of the campers clapped loudly as Chiron finished, except for most of the Ares kids, who didn't really care.

Suddenly a collective gasp went up from the crowd. All their gazes were fixed on a point above Sarah's head.

She must be getting claimed.

I glanced up above Sarah's head, and there was a flash of gray light with the imprint of an owl.

It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Chiron was the first to speak.

"All hail Sarah, daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy."

* * *

~Briana~

I woke up to a splitting headache. I pressed the palm of my hand to my forehead, trying to stop the pain, even though I knew it wouldn't work.

Fortunately, my leg had healed over the night, so now it felt good as new. Whatever that Will kid did must've worked.

Will's godly parent is probably Apollo, since Apollo is the god of medicine, which makes me wonder who my godly parent is. Maybe I'll get claimed today or something.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens!" I hear Leo's voice coming from the doorway.

I roll my eyes. "Just come help me stand up, Flame Boy."

Leo mock salutes. "Sir yes sir!"

He walks over and puts my arm around his shoulder, helping me up, then stands back. Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt at all to put weight on my left leg. I slowly unwrap the gauze, and all I see beneath it is smooth skin.

Leo didn't look surprised in the least. He went to wait outside while I changed into a pair of jeans and an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

When I went out on the front porch, Leo wrapped an arm around my shoulder and steered me towards what must be the Dining Pavilion.

He already explained to me last night how the cabins and tables are organized by godly parent, so I had no idea where to sit.

"You can go sit at that table with Chiron and Grover." Leo said, pointing towards a table near the center. Chiron was standing next to it, in full centaur form.

I scanned the rest of the tables before sitting down. Leo had gone to sit at a table with a bunch of big, serious looking kids. I saw Sarah at the same table as Annabeth. I remembered Leo telling me that Annabeth's mother is Athena, so Sarah and Annabeth must be half-sisters then. I saw Percy sitting alone at another table, which I assumed must be the Poseidon table.

Katie was sitting at a table full of kids with light brown hair and green eyes. That must be the Demeter table. I saw the Stoll brothers sitting with a bunch of kids with mischievous looks on their faces. Hermes table. Piper was the only camper at her table without tons of makeup on or designer clothing. I could smell the perfume from here.

I already knew that Jason, Frank and Hazel would be at Camp Jupiter today, so I didn't bother looking for them.

I sat down close to Chiron, and he nodded at me. "Feeling better, Briana?"

I nodded and managed a faint smile. Chiron seemed to sense my worry. "Don't fear, child. You will be claimed soon enough."

No sooner had he said that, when I saw a bright sea-green light above my head. I glanced up, and saw the imprint of a trident before it disappeared.

The entire mess hall was looking at me in shock, except for Grover. I think he had already suspected who my father was.

"All hail," Chiron's voice echoed. "Briana, daughter of Poseidon, the god of the sea."

Most campers slowly returned to eating their breakfasts, while Chiron told me to go sit at the Poseidon table with Percy.

I gingerly stood up and walked a few feet, sitting down next to Percy. He grinned at me. "Having a sister's gonna be cool." He remarked, sipping his... was that blue soda?

I nodded. "I've never had a brother before."

A wood nymph walked by with a platter of pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and any other breakfast food you could think of. Percy snatched a plate of pancakes and bacon and set it down in front of me.

"Thanks." I said, and he smiled before taking a bite of his pancakes. I ate a few bites of bacon, and caught Leo's eye from across the mess hall. We locked gazes and he winked at me, causing me to blush and look down at my pancakes.

"Looks like my new sister's got a crush!" Percy exclaimed in a sing-song voice. I smacked him on the shoulder. "Do not!"

"Mhm, whatever you say."

I rolled my eyes. "So... if I'm a daughter of Poseidon, does that mean I have cool powers?" I asked.

Percy nodded. "You'll probably have the same powers as I do. I can breathe underwater, control water, make mini-hurricanes- now that was fun- and I can talk to sea creatures and horses."

"That would explain why I thought I heard Blackjack asking for donuts."

Percy laughed. "Yeah. Blackjack is actually my pegasus, and he loves donuts and sugarcubes."

I laughed a little at that. "So do you think you could show me how to use my powers?"

"Sure," Percy said. "We can go to the canoe lake after breakfast."

I smiled in thanks, and started eating my pancakes, finally feeling like I fit in somewhere.

* * *

**Review! Here's some blue cookies: (::) (::) (::) (::)**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	6. Prophecies and Nacho Cheese

**A/N: Yay, another chapter already! Rachel makes an appearance in this chapter, so be prepared.**

**Ugh, I've had dance for two weeks, and this is my third week. Tomorrow is my last day of Dance Camp, thank Jesus. I'm so sore, and all I wanna do is sleep.**

**Okay, enough of my complaining. At least I have a six-pack. Oh yes!**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like Rick Riordan to you?**

* * *

~Sarah~

After breakfast had ended, Annabeth had taken me under her wing, seeing as I was the new Athena camper.

She showed me Cabin Six, which was very neat and orderly. There were bookcases overflowing with books, and stacks of papers and blueprints on some of the desks. The bunks were white, plain, clean, and crisp. Each bed had a personal trunk at the end, which probably held personal items.

Annabeth steered me towards a bed in the back corner, nice and secluded. There was also a desk next to the bed, and when I opened one of the compartments in it, I found a few sketchbooks, paper and pencils. Perfect.

I had gotten used to the idea of being a child of Athena. It was quite nice, actually. Besides being a Broadway actress, I also had an interest in architecture. I absolutely loved the designs of the Parthenon, my favorite structure of all-time.

After showing me around the cabin, Annabeth left to go find Percy, while I walked around for a while, trying to get used to the camp setting.

Suddenly, the shadows on a tree near the woods started to swirl, and a dark figure melted out of the shadows. Nico di Angelo.

Today he was wearing black jeans (again), a black leather jacket, black combat boots, and a black AC/DC t-shirt. He wore a silver skull ring, and the elbows of his jacket were studded. His shaggy black hair hung over his dark eyes, making him look pretty pale.

For some reason, my heart fluttered inside my chest at the sight of him. I choked down the butterflies in my stomach and crossed my arms. "And here comes the emo."

Nico glared at me. "I'm not emo, Owl Girl."

I raised my eyebrow. "Owl Girl? Seriously?"

Nico just shrugged. "I'll come up with a better one eventually."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled.

"Hey Nico!"

I saw a girl of about seventeen run up. She had a large mass of frizzy red hair, and a large splash of freckles across her face. Her green eyes were wide. She was dressed in a 'Leonardo Da Vinci' t-shirt and paint-splattered jeans, which reminded me of Briana.

"Oh yeah. Sarah, this is Rachel, the Oracle of Delphi."

Rachel smiled at me and held her hand out. "Nice to meet you. So you're the new Athena camper?"

I shook her hand and grinned. "That's me!"

Rachel smiled at us for another few seconds, then doubled over, like she had just been punched in the stomach.

I went to go help her, but Nico held me back. I looked at him, confused, but he just kept his eyes on Rachel.

She stood up straight, eyes glowing green. When she spoke, it sounded like it was tripled, like three Rachels were talking at the same time.

"_Ones of fire, water, wisdom and death_

_Shall find the one that took their final breath_

_to find what was taken but to not be mistaken, _

_could not be solved by a gods hand _

_and shall not disdain but find what was stolen in the end. _"

My eyes widened and I whispered to Nico. "Was that a prophecy?"

Nico nodded grimly, probably thinking about the 'one of fire, water, wisdom and death' part. I already had a good idea of what that meant.

As soon as Rachel had finished speaking, she collapsed on the grass. Nico and I caught her by the arms, and upon a silent agreement, began dragging her towards the Big House.

"What's with Rachel?"

Leo came running up, twirling a wrench (does he always do that?). He must've seen her collapse.

"Prophecy." I said. Being a daughter of Athena, I have a near photographic memory, so I repeated the prophecy to Leo without a hitch.

Together we all dragged Rachel to the front porch of the Big House, where Chiron (in wheelchair form) and Mr. D were playing cards.

Chiron got a look of worry on his face the instant he saw Rachel. As soon as we were on the front porch, Chiron spoke in a grave voice. "Prophecy?"

We all nodded (except for Rachel) and I repeated the prophecy once again.

Chiron told us to call together all the Hephaestus, Poseidon, and Athena cabins together, along with all the head counselors of each cabin. We all agreed and set off, after carefully lying Rachel on one of the beds in the infirmary.

* * *

~Percy~

After breakfast had ended, Bri and I made our way towards the canoe lake.

I'll admit, even though I never really wanted any more siblings after Tyson, it's pretty cool having a sister. Especially a sister who has awesome powers like me. Wow, that sounded a little conceited. Forget I said that.

Today, Briana had chosen to wear a plain pair of jeans, gray converse, and a camp shirt. She had her chocolate waves pulled back in a loose ponytail, and from what I can tell, never wears makeup, but still manages to make Leo drool. I may be a Seaweed Brain, but I know when a dude's totally whipped. I just hope that I don't suddenly get a 'protective older brother' side to my personality.

I mean, I'm already protective enough over Annabeth after... Tartarus. She and I had been practically attached at the hip since we'd gotten out of that hellhole. I never really wanted to let her out of my sight. A couple of months after the Giant War ended, Annabeth and I were able to cope more and more, but we still slept in the same cabin. Which reminds me, Bri's gonna be in my cabin- our cabin, now- from now on...

We finally reached the dock, and I stepped out on to the water, controlling it so that it could support my weight.

Bri stared at me, an awed look on her face. "How- how are you doing that?" She frantically gestured to the water and back to me.

I chuckled. "Well, it should come naturally, seeing as you're also Poseidon's kid. Just focus on the water." Wow. I sounded like a teacher now. Cool.

Briana nodded and closed her eyes, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. She stepped off of the wood, and began walking across the water, sending out small ripples whenever her feet touched the surface. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling victorious over my first attempt at teaching about water powers.

"Bri? You over here? Chiron wants us!"

Bri's eyes snapped open, and she broke concentration. She suddenly fell through the surface with a loud splash.

Leo appeared, walking out on to the dock with a surprised and amused look on his face. I frowned at him. "You made her break concentration."

Leo just shrugged.

"So what does Chiron want us for?"

"Chiron said something about Rachel using that creepy prophecy voice or something. Then she collapsed like she'd been sucker-punched."

Bri used the water to shoot herself out of the lake and on to the dock next to Leo, completely dry. "Well, that was fun." She said matter-of-factly.

Leo hadn't noticed the gigantic sphere of water hovering over his head. I raised my eyebrow at Briana, and she just grinned.

Leo looked from Bri to me, then back to Bri. "What?"

Bri snapped her fingers, and the huge sphere of water came crashing down on Leo, making him fall on his butt on the dock, soaking wet.

Leo glared at her. "It's on, Fish Girl."

Briana just smiled smugly. "You can count on it, Flame Boy. I believe you said something about Chiron wanting me?" She asked innocently, then sprinted off in the direction of the Big House, brown ponytail swinging behind her.

Leo stood up and shook the water from his curly hair. "Well played, Fish Girl," Leo muttered. "Well played."

I laughed. "Dude, you are totally whipped."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Puh-lease, Mr. I-swear-we-just-accidentally-fell-asleep-together- in-the-stables."

I could feel my face heating up. "It was accidental! Besides, I love Annabeth!"

Leo chuckled and twirled a wrench on his left index finger. "Whatever you say, Commander Fish Guy."

I rolled my eyes, walking back across the water and heading towards the Big House after Bri.

"Hey!" Leo shouted from behind me. "You gonna use your awesome powers to dry me off?!"

I smirked and looked over my shoulder. "Nope."

* * *

~Leo~

After about ten minutes, the entire Athena, Poseidon, and Hephaestus cabins had taken seats in the meeting room around the ping pong table, along with the head counselors for all the other cabins.

The Stoll brothers had stolen all the cans of srayable nacho cheese and were squirting it on the nearest possible victims. Luckily for me, I was sitting beside Bri on the other side of the room.

Most of the Athena campers sat in a clump together, except for Annabeth, who sat on Percy's lap, and Sarah, who took a seat next to Nico. Briana was sitting on my right side, while my cabin mates all sat to my left. The Stoll brothers sat on the other side of the Hephaestus cabin, and Katie sat next to Travis, looking at him with a smug look on her face.

Travis had sprayed cheese in Katie's hair, and she had taken another can and sprayed cheese up his nose, and now Travis was trying to sneeze the cheese out.

Connor squirted Lou Ellen in the face, and she punched him in the nose. I stole a can of spray cheese that had fallen under the ping pong table, and used it to spray Bri. She wiped the cheese off her eyes and glared at me, snatching the cheese can and whacking me upside the head.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, rubbing my temple where she hit me. Piper, Sarah and the Stolls burst out laughing while everyone else had amused looks on their faces.

"Attention!" Chiron called the meeting to order, slamming his back hoof on the ground for good measure.

All the laughter quieted down, and Chiron had Sarah repeat the prophecy to everyone.

"_Ones of fire, water, wisdom and death,_" Annabeth repeated. "Obviously it means four demigods will go on the quest-"

"A child of Hephaestus, a child of Poseidon, a child of Athena and a child of Hades." Bri finished for her. Annabeth didn't look angry that she'd interrupted her. She'd just nodded.

"Well I, for one, am sick of quests." Percy declared. All attention reverted to Briana, seeing as she's the only other child of Poseidon here. She shrugged nonchalantly. "That means I'll go, I guess."

I cleared my throat. "So, who from the Hephaestus cabin is going?" Truthfully, I did want to go, mainly because Bri was going. Don't tell anyone I said that.

Nyssa, one of my half-sisters, snorted. "You, Leo. You're the only fire-user."

I raised my hands in a defeated gesture. "Fair point. Who from the Athena cabin is going?"

Everyone automatically shifted their gazes to Annabeth, who stuck her hand out in front of her, making a 'stop' gesture. "Whoa, hold it. I've already been on too many quests, and like Percy said, I'm sick of them. Besides, I think Sarah should go. She deserves a chance to prove herself, just like Briana."

There was a quick chorus of agreements.

"Good idea."

"Sure."

"Whatever."

"Awesome."

"And of course Nico shall go, since he is the only child of Hades here." Chiron pointed out.

Everyone nodded, and started chatting amongst themselves about the lines of the prophecy. Chiron whacked his hoof on the floor again, gaining everyone's attention once again.

"So it is agreed: Briana, Leo, Sarah and Nico shall go on a quest."

* * *

**Whooooo! The quest is issued! All right! *victory dance***

**~Yours in Demigodishness** **and all that. Peace out!**


	7. Training and Tacos

**A/N: Another chapter! Yayoss! I just get more and more inspired everyday. **

**My best friend, you all know her as SarahDiAngelo623, came up with a lot of the ideas for future quest chapters of this story, and also came up with most of the prophecy. Everyone say thank you to Sarah!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own PJO.**

* * *

~Briana~

The next week was filled to the brim with training, and I haven't even thought about Broadway and Goode once. I didn't worry about it, though. Annabeth had taught me how to control the Mist.

Since the prophecy had spouted from Rachel's mouth, Chiron had insisted we train to our full potential. We would depart from camp on Wednesday, which was two days from now.

Both Sarah and I had chosen celestial bronze daggers from the camp armory, and had been to several training sessions with Annabeth and Percy.

Sarah and I both had sparred with almost every camper, including Percy and Annabeth. We had beaten every one of them, except for Annabeth and Percy. No surprise there.

I'll admit that Sarah was better with a dagger than I was. We had sparred several times, and she beat me eight times out of ten.

In addition, Percy had been giving me some lessons on how to control my powers. I had succeeded in creating a mini-hurricane, learned that I could indeed breathe underwater, and I learned how to bend water to my will.

Ever since the sea creatures in Long Island Sound and the pegasi learned that I could understand them, they had been talking my ears off. Blackjack always asked for donuts whenever I was around, and the other winged horses begged for sugar cubes.

It also seemed that water wasn't my only strength here. As soon as I had gotten my hands on a bow and arrow, I proved to be a natural at archery, even though I wasn't a daughter of Apollo.

I kept training, and eventually outmatched even the best Apollo camper at archery. Don't ask me how; I don't know. All I do know, is that I got a silver bow and quiver of arrows for my 'welcome to camp' gift.

I whirled around on the ball of my foot, wiping the perspiration from my forehead, and threw my dagger. It landed with a thump in the heart of one of the straw dummies, hay spilling out of the 'wound'.

"Great job, Bri. Just work on your posture a little bit. That goes for you too, Sar." Annabeth called from one of the seats near the top of the sword arena. She had been training us since the crack of dawn, and Sarah and I were hacking away at the straw dummies that were placed around the arena.

I took Annabeth's advice and relaxed my knees a little lower, so that I was bouncing on the balls of my feet. I threw my dagger again, this time hitting the dummy square in the chest.

After Sarah and I mauled a few more dummies, Annabeth let us go for the day. We both sheathed our daggers, strapping them to our belts, and I took a sip from the water bottle I had brought.

I suggested that we go see what Leo was working on in Bunker Nine. I visited him a lot, since he's probably my best friend here, besides Sarah.

"Looks like someone's got a crush." Sarah remarked, smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Says the girl who has the hots for Death Breath." I said, and Sarah's cheeks reddened.

"Shut up." She mumbled, and I laughed. We began walking towards the woods.

"So," Sarah said. "What about our jobs on Broadway? And school?"

"I've got it covered." I replied. "Annabeth taught me how to control the Mist." I said, and she nodded in understanding.

I stopped at the kitchens, asking the harpies to make a couple of tacos. They assembled the tacos, then wrapped them up in a brown paper bag. I thanked them and walked back to where Sarah was waiting for me.

She raised her eyebrow. "What's in the bag?"

"Tacos," I said. "For Leo. There's no food in Bunker Nine, and he's been in there all day."

Sarah turned her gaze ahead. "Probably getting ready for the big quest on Wednesday." She muttered.

According to the prophecy that Rachel spewed last week, Sarah, Leo, Nico and I would be the ones on the quest. Since I'm the only daughter of Poseidon at the moment, and Leo's the only fire-summoner, and Nico's the only son of Hades, it had to be us four on the quest. Yes, there are more daughters of Athena, but we had chosen Sarah to come along with us. It just didn't feel right with anyone else.

We continued walking towards Bunker Nine, when a dark figure melted from the shadows of a tree up ahead.

"Hey, Nic." Sarah called.

Nico waved and waited for us to catch up to him. Today, he was dressed in all black, as usual, but with a blood red shirt instead of a black one.

"Hey Sarah, Bri." He greeted us. "Heading towards Bunker Nine?"

We both nodded. Nico smiled, which is something we learned he didn't do very often. "Mind if I come? Might as well have all quest members there to plan it out."

Good point, I thought. Sarah and I both nodded, and I saw Nico hold Sarah's gaze for a moment longer. I smiled to myself. Maybe this quest will bring 'em together.

Finally, we approached the stone cliff face, which were actually the hidden doors of Bunker Nine. I stepped ahead of Nico and Sarah, rapping my fist on the hard rock.

"OPEN UP, FLAME BOY!" I shouted at the stone.

I stood back and crossed my arms, waiting for the doors to open.

Roughly ten seconds later, the doors began to slide open, slowly but silently, which surprised me. You'd think gigantic, heavy rock doors would make some sort of loud noise when they open.

We stepped inside to see Leo hanging upside down below one of the catwalks, fixing a fuse box implanted in the wall.

"Hey Flame Boy!" I called, and Leo looked around until he spotted me. "Well, if it isn't Fish Girl! What brings you here on this fine day?" He asked in a fake accent.

I rolled my eyes and held up the paper bag. "I brought tacos."

Leo's eyes widened and he swung himself up on to the catwalk so fast, he looked like he was about to fall over from dizziness.

He steadied himself on the rail, then slid down the fire pole, like they do at fire stations when there's an emergency. He ran over and snatched the bag of tacos out of my hand and kissed my cheek.

"Thanks! I love tacos! He exclaimed as he dug through and unwrapped his first taco. I could feel a blush coming on, since he kissed my cheek, but I tried to suppress it. Apparently it didn't work, because Sarah winked at me.

I rolled my eyes at her, then walked over to where Leo was sitting down on the floor, stuffing his face with tacos. I plopped down next to him, and Sarah and Nico sat down opposite of us.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Leo asked between bites of taco.

"_Shall find the one who took their final breath,_" Nico recited. "Sounds like death."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Of course you would say that, Death Breath."

Nico socked her lightly on the shoulder. "Shut it, Owl Head."

Sarah laughed, and I gave her a knowing look. She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me.

"And we agree that the thief who stole whatever it is, has to be a dead soul." I concluded. Everyone nodded.

"So," Nico said. "I was thinking we could make this quick, and get Argus to drive us to the Doors of Orpheus." Sarah and I nodded in agreement, while Leo crunched on his third taco. How did that boy eat so much in so little time?

We devised a plan to complete the quest in as little time as possible. We would enter the Doors of Orpheus, which were a clump of boulders in Central Park, just north of the pond, and make our way to Hades's palace, to ask what's been stolen, and get any clues we can. Then we find the dead thief in the Underworld, beat the shit out of him, and return whatever was stolen.

Well, Nico, Sarah and I devised the plan, while Leo just stuffed his face with tacos. He did input the 'beat the shit out of the dead soul' part, though.

Even though by now it was past curfew, we stayed in Bunker Nine all night, passed out on extra couches that Leo had put in here.

I just hoped that this quest didn't take too long. Boy was I wrong.

* * *

**Yay, another chapter down! What did ya'll think? What do you guys think has been stolen by a dead soul in the Underworld? Review!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	8. Jealousy and Sealed Doors

**A/N: Yay, chapter eight is here! I don't think I did a particularly great job on this one, and some of the characters may be a little OOC (oops). **

**OH! Something I forgot to mention: Leo and Nico are both sixteen in this story (I know Nico was only fourteen in the Heroes of Olympus, but it had to be done for this story, don't hate on me) and Sarah and Briana are both fifteen. **

**My last day of dance camp was today *sad face*, but I start back up later in August with pointe and contemporary (YAY!).**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure Rick Riordan doesn't do ballet... like I do...**

* * *

~Sarah~

I slipped a little, but caught a handhold quickly. Nico was timing me on the lava rock wall for the third time today.

Chiron had excused Nico, Leo, Bri and I from the normal activities today, since we would be leaving tomorrow morning. We had all packed extra clothes, ambrosia, and other necessities already. We didn't need mortal money, since when I ran away from home to go on Broadway, I had jacked my dad's credit card.

All of us got bored after lunch, so we decided to have a rock climbing contest. Of course, Leo had won, since he didn't have to dodge the lava, and now Nico, Bri and I were trying to beat his time. Briana was climbing next to me, while Leo timed her.

She dodged a glob of lava and swung her leg up to step on another handhold. I pushed myself up beside her, and we reached the top at the same time.

"Yeah! Go Bri!" Leo yelled from below. "Flame On!"

Bri rolled her eyes and began climbing down. Those two were practically best friends already.

"Come on down, Sar!" Nico shouted.

"Hold on, Death Boy!" I yelled, and began releasing my footholds, swinging on my hands until I got to the bottom. When I walked up to Nico, he held out his timer for me to see. "New record." He said.

I grinned and turned to Bri. Leo held out his timer to her, and she started doing a weird victory dance. I shook my head at her, while Leo was trying not to laugh.

She stopped and stared at us. "What?"

I waved it off. "Nothing."

Suddenly I saw Nico stiffen, looking at something, clearly annoyed. "What is it?" I asked. Just then, a girl came running up. She was clearly from the Aphrodite cabin, since her face was caked with makeup, and I could smell the designer perfume from here.

She had bleached blonde hair, and what looked like a fake tan, and was dressed in a short yellow sundress.

"Hey Nic!" She called, her sundress swishing around her legs.

"Hey, Tiffany." Nico said in an exasperated voice. He apparently didn't like talking to this Tiffany chick.

She twirled her hair around her finger and cocked her hip out, making an obvious attempt at flirting. "What's up?"

I didn't even know I was clenching my fists until my knuckles turned white.

Bri must have noticed, because she put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic smile.

I put my hands on my hips and watched to see what Nico did.

Apparently her attempts at flirting were useless. Nico just kept that sullen and depressed look on his face, not really paying attention to what Tiffany was saying.

She kept going on and on about something to do with the Ares kids' poor fashion sense until Nico interrupted her.

"...and they just don't know how to dress-"

"Yeah, that's great. But we... um... gotta go pack, for the quest tomorrow." Nico quickly came up with an excuse.

"But we already-" Leo began, but Bri elbowed him in the ribs. "Oof!"

Briana sent a glare at Leo, and he just shrugged. I rolled my eyes as Tiffany spoke in a way-too-chipper voice. "Kay, see ya later!" She waltzed away, moving her hips way too much.

Suddenly, I'm extremely glad that we're going on this quest.

* * *

The next morning was chaotic.

Leo and Nico both woke up late, and were rushing with their backpacks to the camp van, where Argus, Briana and I were already waiting.

Chiron came to see us off, even though Argus would just be driving us to the Doors of Orpheus, which are in Central Park.

Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Piper, the Stoll brothers and Katie also came to say goodbye.

"Good luck, sis." Percy threw his arm around Bri's shoulder, giving her a side hug. When he pulled away, Annabeth gave both of us hugs. "All that training we did ought to do the trick, in case you have to fight monsters."

The Stolls clapped Leo and Nico on their backs. "Don't forget to get the girls while you're at it." They said simultaneously, glancing at Bri and I, and Nico and Leo blushed bright red.

"Um... yeah-" Leo stuttered.

"-let's go." Nico finished.

Soon enough, all our bags were packed, and we were all seated in the camp van, Leo riding shotgun.

"Flame on! This quest is gonna be epic!" Leo fist-pumped the air, while Briana, Nico and I rolled our eyes.

"Okay," Briana said. "So we just go through a pile of boulders into the Underworld, go to Hades's palace, ask what exactly has been stolen, and try and find a dead thief?" Briana reviewed.

"And kick his ass." Nico confirmed.

Soon we were riding along Fifth Avenue, towards central park, in a large van that said Delphi Strawberry Service.

Annabeth had told me that it was the cover name for Camp Half-Blood. I thought it was pretty accurate, considering we had gigantic strawberry fields there.

We all got out of the van, grabbing our backpacks and said bye to Argus. He waved at us, the eyes on his fingers blinking, then drove away.

I'd say that we're all dressed for questing. I was simply wearing a camp shirt and jeans with black combat boots and a warm jacket from the camp store. Even though the temperatures inside camp borders were controlled, in the mortal world it's still the middle of January. I had pulled my strawberry blonde hair back into a ponytail, a few pesky strands of hair insisting on escaping.

Bri was wearing light wash ripped jeans, gray converse and a gray hoodie that was probably a size or two too big, but it still looked cute. Her chocolate brown hair was swept into a messy braid that reached down to her lower back. Damn, that girl has long hair.

Leo wore khaki shorts and a camp shirt that was covered in grease stains, probably from working in Bunker Nine all the time. He also wore black suspenders (seriously?) and refused to wear a jacket, saying that he could just become a human torch if he was cold.

Nico looked as emo as ever, with his black hair hanging in front of his dark eyes. He had on all black (no surprise there) with his aviator's jacket and a silver skull ring. Normally I don't really like the whole emo look, but boy, did Nico manage to pull it off or what?

We started walking towards the pond in the middle of the park, which was on the way to the rock clump that was the Doors of Orpheus.

Bri made the water in the pond swirl as we passed, making cool shapes in the air, like tridents, fish and other things, like stars and caterpillars.

Eventually, we came to a random clump of boulders that Nico claimed were the Doors of Orpheus.

"Okay," I said. "So how do we open it?"

"Music." Nico answered. "One of us has to sing."

Leo took a step back, shaking his hands in front of him as an 'oh hell no' gesture. "Not me, peeps. I'm pretty sure I'd cause an avalanche or something."

Bri snorted, while I turned to Nico. "How about you?"

"Nope," Nico said. "I don't sing."

"Well who's gonna do it then?" I asked. Nico nudged me in the side and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh hell to the no." I said, raising my hands on either side of my head in a 'back off' type gesture. "I may be a Broadway actress, but I'm not singing."

Bri rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "Guys, I got this."

She stepped up to the clump of rocks, tugging the strings on her hoodie, and sang a couple of lines of 'A Whole New World' from the Disney movie, _Aladdin_.

"Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling," She sang. "Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling, through an endless diamond sky."

We all stared at her in shock. I never knew she could sing!

"That... was... amazing!" Leo exclaimed.

"Are you sure you don't wanna sing on Broadway?" I asked, and she blushed. "No, I don't sing professionally."

Nico smirked. "Aladdin? Really?" Bri just shrugged. "I love Disney."

Despite Briana's singing, the rocks didn't even move.

"Are you sure this is the right group of rocks?" Leo asked. Nico nodded, squatting down beside the clump. "Positive."

We watched as Nico felt around the stone, looking for a telltale sign of the entrance to the Underworld. He suddenly gasped and stood up, turning back to face us.

"What?" I asked, worried.

Nico replied, his voice free of emotion. "The doors," he said. "They've been sealed off."

* * *

***Gasp* Ooooh! What do we do now? Dun dun dun!**

**Sorry this chapter was so short, but it was more of a filler chapter, and it got the point across that the Doors of Orpheus had been sealed. **

**Oh yeah, and I don't own ****_Aladdin_****, or 'A Whole New World'. Disney owns those.**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	9. Hijacking Cars and Grocery Shopping

**A/N: Chapter nine is here! YAY!**

**And the quest officially begins. So, if the Doors of Orpheus are sealed off, how are they supposed to get to the Underworld? Read.**

**Warning... Leo may seem a little OOC in this chapter. Sorry about that. Don't hate on me :(**

**Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say that I don't own PJO?**

* * *

~Leo~

"What do you mean, 'sealed off'?!" Sarah screeched. "How can an entrance to the Underworld just be sealed off?"

Nico raised both hands in defeat. "I don't know! It just is!"

"Then how in Hades are we supposed to get into the Underworld?!"

Briana sighed and ran her hands through her bangs. She looked cute when she did that. She sighed in exasperation. "Will you two stop arguing like an old married couple?" Both Nico and Sarah blushed. Bri continued. "This just means we'll have to go to DOA Recording Studios in Hollywood. Our only problem: Mode of transportation."

That's my cue! I stepped forward, twirling a wrench that I got out of my magic toolbelt on my finger. "Easy. We hijack a car."

There were protests immediately.

"That's illegal!"

"What if there's GPS tracking system in it?"

"We could just shadow-travel."

We all stared at Nico. He backed up a little. "Just an option."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Guys, hijacking a car may be our only option."

Nico fake gasped. "Coming from an Athenian!"

"Shut up." Sarah punched him in the arm.

Finally, everyone had agreed to let me, the Super McShizzle Man, use my amazing mechanical powers to hijack a nice silver colored Trans Am, which was parked outside a small café near Central Park.

I know stealing cars isn't legal, and someone, probably in that café, had paid for it, but they'd eventually find it (probably somewhere a few states over, but whatever). Besides, it was pretty much our only option at this point, seeing as we had no cash for the bus or a taxi, and I'm pretty sure they don't accept credit cards.

Hijacking the car wasn't really hard at all, for me, at least. I mean, come on. Supreme Commander of the Argo II here! I built that large flying Greek trireme, I think I can simply hijack a car.

Sarah and Nico went inside the café to get some food for the road, using Sarah's credit card (it's actually her dad's but whatever), while Bri stayed and watched me work on the car.

"Careful," I warned her. "I might look too sexy working on a car." I joked around. She just rolled her eyes and flipped her long braid over her shoulder. "I think I'll survive."

I popped open the hood, and began working **(A/N: I know nothing about cars, so lets skip this part).**

Soon enough, Sarah and Nico returned with four sandwiches and bags of Lays potato chips, and we all got into the car. I hopped in the driver's seat, since I'm the only one old enough to drive besides Nico, and Bri called shotgun, which means Sarah and Nico were squished in the back. A little side note about Trans Ams: The back seats are tiny.

We took off before anyone could see that the car had been stolen, and headed south out of New York. We drove through all night, jamming out to Green Day on the radio (Sarah and Bri insisted).

Around one in the morning, we were driving down some road in Pennsylvania, and I hadn't even gotten tired. Sarah and Nico had fallen asleep in the back, but Briana managed to stay awake, thanks to many trips to Starbucks along the way.

"So," Bri said. "Being the only fire user in centuries has to be pretty cool."

"Yeah, I guess. Sometimes it feels more like a curse than a gift, though." I said. I don't know why I was opening up all of the sudden, but I'm kind of glad it's to Bri.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

I could feel tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. What the Hades? No. I'm Leo Valdez. Humor is a good way to hide the pain. But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to joke around about this.

I sighed. "I used to live with my mom until I was eight years old. We had this machine shop. She could fix just about anything, and I guess that's why Hephaestus fell for her. But then, being a god, he left us." I said, and Briana nodded, gazing at me with sympathetic but understanding eyes. I guess she understood, since she never knew her father either, that is, until she found out she was a daughter of Poseidon.

"Anyway, one day, we were getting ready to leave the machine shop when my mom had to go back and ger something, so she left me alone in front of the shop for just a minute. That's when Queen Dirt Face showed up."

"Who?" Briana looked confused. Oh, right, no one had told her or Sarah what had happened last summer. I mentally reminded myself to tell he later. Did I mention that she looks cute when she's confused?

"Gaea," I answered. "Evil earth goddess. We defeated her last summer. Long story. Tell you later," I added, when she raised her eyebrow. She nodded for me to go on.

I took a deep breath. "Gaea threatened to kill my mother. I didn't mean to set myself on fire, but I guess my emotions got a little out of hand." I said as my grip on the steering wheel tightened, my knuckles turning white. Briana reached over and massaged my hand with her warm one.

That gave me the courage to finish. "The machine shop burned down. I was put under foster care because no relatives would take me in, but I always ran away. Then I met Jason and Piper in Arizona, another long story, and I ended up in Camp Half-Blood." I finally finished, and let out a breath of relief. It felt good to get it all out, instead of holding in the guilt for so long.

"Oh, Leo..." Bri murmured. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault."

I took her hand in mine and she rubbed my knuckles with her thumb. Wow, this was totally unlike me. Not only does Bri make me feel different, she makes me act different, too. What the Hades is happening to me?!

"I know," I said. "Gaea's a pretty evil goddess."

I glanced at her for a second, giving her my signature goofy grin, before turning my eyes back to the road. I felt my cheeks heat up when I realized Bri and I were still holding hands. She didn't pull away, though, and neither did I.

"My family was never too great, either." She said.

I glanced at her. "How so?"

She sighed. "It was just my mom and I, living in Miami. I loved the water, so I spent almost everyday down at the beach, sketching or painting."

I nodded to show I was listening.

"My mom never really paid attention to me, other than to make sure I wasn't in danger. Other than that, I was on my own. I asked her about it once, and she said that I reminded her too much of my father. Not the way I looked, but how I always loved to be near water. That's why I started drawing, to get my emotions out. I never really talked to anyone except my cousin, Abby. That is, until I started going to Goode." She finished, grinning when she mentioned Goode High. I grinned back and squeezed her hand. I was glad she had opened up to me so much. It felt like I had known her my whole life, even though we'd only known each other for about two weeks.

"How about we ditch this car in Virginia?" I suggested.

"Why?"

"There's a GPS system in here, so they could potentially track us. Besides, this particular car doesn't have great gas mileage." I pointed out. Bri just rolled her eyes.

"We had Sarah's dad's credit card, remember? And her dad is filthy rich. We could easily pay for extra gas. Although, ditching the car in Virginia would be a good idea." She agreed.

"We can hit a Walmart while we're at it," I said. "Get some snacks for the road."

Briana nodded, then glanced in the rearview mirror and smirked. She nudged me. "Leo, look at Sarah and Nico."

I did as she said and looked at the rearview mirror, since I can't take my eyes off the road for too long.

I felt myself smirking at what I saw.

Sarah and Nico had fallen asleep against each other in the back seat. Sarah had her head on Nico's chest, and Nico had one arm around her waist protectively, resting his head on top of hers.

I saw Briana stifle a laugh. "Oh, they so like each other."

"Whoa, calm down, Aphrodite." I teased, and she glared at me. "Shut it, Valdez."

I chuckled and pressed the car horn, effectively waking both Nico and Sarah.

They looked confused for a moment, then seemed to realize what position they were in before jerking apart.

Bri and I both laughed and Sarah sent us a death glare. Unfortunately for them, the back seat in a Trans Am is really small, so they can't relax their muscles without their shoulders touching. They just pretty much sat there awkwardly for the rest of the ride.

"How does stopping in Virginia and ditching this car sound to you guys?" Bri asked.

"Sounds good. Where are we going to stop in Virginia?"

"We were thinking a gas station next to Walmart. Bri and I will run in and get some snacks for the road." I piped in.

Bri nodded, and Sarah and Nico agreed, still looking at each other awkwardly.

After a few more hours, we were pulling into the parking lot of a Walmart in Virginia. Bri and I got out, leaving Sarah and Nico in the back seat to watch over the car.

"Don't get too cozy back there!" I called over my shoulder as Bri and I started towards the Walmart.

Sarah and Nico both turned bright red, and I smirked. Briana whacked me on the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Embarrassing them, you weirdo."

I laughed. We entered the Walmart, immediately going to the grocery section. Bri picked up a shopping basket, and I threw in a loaf of bread, some ham, cheese and other sandwich ingredients.

We threw in a couple more food items, including a bag of Ruffles cheddar and sour cream chips. We eventually reached the aisle with Goldfish in it, and Bri and I reached for it at the same time.

As weird, cliché and totally unlike me as it sounds, I felt a spark of electricity shoot up my arm when our hands touched.

We both looked up at each other, and I realized how close we really were. Before I knew what was happening, I glanced at her lips and we both started to lean in.

CRASH!

The entire shelf of snacks shook from the impact of some kind of monster, and both Bri and I were knocked to the ground. The basket was knocked out of Bri's hand, spilling food all over the aisle floor.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around Bri's waist, helping her to stand. I let go and she unsheathed her dagger, holding it in her right hand.

I whispered to my toolbelt: "Giant hammer."

I reached into my toolbelt and yes, I did pull out a gigantic hammer.

After a couple of seconds, the monster appeared around the corner, a sleek, black body with an incredibly large wingspan. It stared at us with hostile eyes, scraping its talons on the hard floor.

"It's a gryphon!" Briana yelled to me.

"I thought those things only lived in Alaska!" I yelled back.

The gryphon didn't hesitate to charge. It swung a sharp talon at Bri, but she ducked under it, doing a skilled somersault and standing up, dagger at the ready.

I felt a surge of anger, and my hammer set itself on fire. I slammed it into the gryphon's side, but it only seemed to anger the beast.

The gryphon pinned Briana to the ground, knocking her dagger from her hand. It skidded across the floor and came to a stop near a shelf of Poptarts.

The flying monster pinned her with one paw, and raised its other one, talons poised for the kill.

White-hot anger surged inside me, my vision turning red, and I charged the gryphon.

* * *

**Wow! Cliffy! Don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter. Stay tuned! **

**And... YAY! LEANA MOMENT! (Leana is Leo and Briana's ship name that I came up with) and NICARAH MOMENT! (Nicarah is Nico and Sarah's ship name).**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	10. Secrets and Suckish Dreams

**A/N: Wassup, guys? Chapter ten is here! I'm bored in Florida (how does that happen?) so I decided to update.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO...yet (Muhahaha). And yes, I quoted Harry Potter in this one. I don't think I did in any other chapters. At least, not that I know of.**

* * *

~Briana~

The gryphon had me pinned down with one talon, the other raised, poised to deliver the death blow.

I squeezed my eyes closed, waiting for the pain. But it never came.

"NOT MY BRIANA YOU BITCH!"

The gryphon disintegrated into ashes, and Leo stood over me, a wild look in his eyes, gripping the handle of his flaming hammer tightly.

"L-Leo?"

He calmed down a little, putting his flaming hammer back in his magic toolbelt (how the hell did he fit that thing back in there?) and holding out his hand. I took it, and he helped me to my feet.

Despite the situation, I smirked at him. "Your Briana?"

His cheeks reddened, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well-I... um... I... y-yeah..." He stuttered, totally un-Leo-like.

I laughed at his expression. We both saw all our food scattered around the aisle, and we both began picking up food items. I shoved bags of chips and goldfish into the basket.

We both reached for the bread loaf at the same time, and our hands touched. There it was again, the sparks. I averted my eyes from our hands, and found myself staring into his brown eyes for the second time that day.

We both started to lean in, and this time, our lips met.

Leo intertwined our fingers, and his other arm went around my waist, pulling me closer. My free arm coiled around his neck, and we stayed like that until a pesky thing called oxygen interrupted us.

"So," Leo said as we pulled away. "How does it feel to be dating the amazing Supreme McShizzle Man?"

I rolled my eyes, and we both stood up. I put the bread back in the basket, and turned to face him, my hands on my hips.

"Who said I'm dating you?"

Leo looked shocked for a moment. "I have to ask you?"

"Duh!"

Leo groaned, and I crossed my arms over my chest, sending him a signature death glare. He raised his hands in defeat.

"Fine. Will you, the amazing Briana, do me a honor of being my girlfriend?" He asked, getting down on one knee and taking both my hands in his.

I rolled my eyes and kissed him on the cheek. "You're such a dork."

"So I'll take that as a yes?"

"Duh."

"Should we tell Sarah and Nico about us?" Leo asked. I contemplated for a moment.

Should we? I immediately thought against it. I didn't want to lie to them, but the fact that Leo and I had become a couple might make things awkward, especially for them.

"No," I decided. "Let's wait until after the quest is over."

"Ah, dating in secret. Leo likey." He agreed, and I smacked him on the arm, laughing.

I grabbed the basket of snacks and we went to the checkout line. I could tell Leo wanted to put his arm around my shoulder, by the way his arm was twitching, but it's a good thing he didn't, because just then, Sarah and Nico walked in and met us in the line.

"Hey guys. We heard a crash. What happened?" Sarah asked, concern sparkling in her grey/blue eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "It was just a gryphon. Leo handled it."

Nico and Sarah both looked shocked. "Leo?"

Leo smirked, and I laughed. "I know. Shocking, isn't it?" I said, and Leo glared at me.

I grinned back playfully, and scanned the items in the basket on the fifteen items or less line, where you scan and bag groceries yourself. I paid with Sarah's credit card, since she'd already told me her PIN number.

We all stepped outside, Leo and Nico holding all our backpacks while Sarah and I held the grocery bags. "What car should we jack next?" Leo asked, like it was the most casual thing in the world.

As a joke, I pointed out a bright pink Lamborghini. Nico and Leo's eyes went wide. "NO!"

Sarah stared at me, horrified, until I gave her a look, and she joined in on the joke. "Yeah, come on."

We dragged Nico and Leo over to it, with them protesting the entire way.

"Ooooh! Look a black Lexus!" Nico said, and Leo immediately agreed. We pretended to be disappointed while Leo worked on the Lexus Rims.

Soon, the car was started and ready to be driven. Nico jumped in the driver's seat, and Leo and I jumped in the back, leaving Sarah to ride shotgun. She glared at me, and I smirked back at her.

Soon, we were on the road again, heading southwest. Luckily for us, this car didn't have a GPS system, but it does still have a license plate, which means we'll probably have to ditch this one. Shame, really. This car is awesome.

Nico turned up the radio, and Green Day blared into the car (courtesy or Sarah and I, again) and we all sang along.

"So where are we gonna stop for the night?" Sarah asked.

"How does a five-star hotel in Amarillo, Texas sound?"

We all turned to stare at Leo.

"What?" He asked. "I do my research. Plus, we have Sarah's credit card."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, there's enough money on there to last a year in a hotel like that."

I yawned involuntarily, my mouth stretching wide. Sarah glanced at me with a smile before suggesting that I get some sleep.

I argued immediately, but all three of my friends insisted. I shifted so that my head was in Leo's lap (there's not much room in this car, not that I minded), and Sarah and Nico raised their eyes, and I sent them a glare, while Leo smirked at me.

Sarah turned back around and began talking to Nico about shadow traveling or something, while I drifted off to sleep.

I'm sure you've heard this plenty of times, and Percy had already warned me, but demigod dreams absolutely suck.

It started out nice enough. I saw Camp Half-Blood from above, like the view from an airplane. Demigods were all training, canoeing or walking through the strawberry fields, chattering to one another. It was sunset, the water of Long Island Sound sparkling in the sunlight.

I immediately felt a wave of homesickness. In the short week-and-a-half that I was there, it had quickly become home to me. The Poseidon cabin, sword arena, mess hall, strawberry fields, the beach- all of it.

My dream-vision zoomed in until it looked and felt like I was standing at the beach. The waves were foaming along the shore, crashing against the wet sand. I felt the sand between my toes, and looked down. I was wearing what I was when I fell asleep, but no shoes. It was like I was really there, but at the same time it wasn't.

At first, I thought the beach was empty, until the silhouette of a man seemed to emerge from the water. I couldn't see him clearly until he stepped closer.

He was an older man, with raven black hair, sea green eyes, and was wearing khaki bermuda shorts and a Tommy Bahama shirt. He had an intimidating aura of power, but the crinkles on the sides of his eyes told me he smiled a lot.

I had a flash of the same sea green eyes looking down at me, probably when I was less than a year old, with a kind sparkle in them.

"Dad." I breathed. Poseidon grinned when he came closer, the smile lines beside his eyes becoming more prominent.

"Briana, my daughter. I am sorry I hadn't contacted you sooner."

I gulped. I had never seen a god before, let alone my father, one of the big three. As shocked and intimidated as I was, I managed a smile.

"It's fine, dad, but why contact me now, after fifteen years?"

He grimaced. "There has been many problems with gods communicating with their children. Zeus banned it before the second Titan War, and withdrew fully during the second Giant War, last summer. I would've sent you a sign sooner, if I could've."

I smiled sadly. "I know you didn't just come here to visit. What's the reason?"

I really didn't want to push my father away, even though he is a god. I'd never had a real father-figure before, and I didn't want my chance to slip away, but I was also wary of his reasoning for visiting me in a dream. Gods didn't just do it for fun.

Poseidon sighed. "I just came with a warning. The Underworld is a dangerous place, the realm of my brother, Hades. He and I do not see eye to eye sometimes."

I raised my eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Poseidon ran a hand through his raven hair, much like both Percy and I do when we're frustrated or worried.

"Well, after World War II, Zeus, Hades and I made a pact not to have any more demigod kids. They were too powerful. That war was actually started by our children, and you see how that turned out.

"So we held the pact, until after the second Titan War, which was last summer. Of course, Zeus and I both broke the oath, me with Percy, and Zeus with Thalia and Jason. Hades was furious. Of course, Nico is his son, but he's a long story. Now, he finds out that I had broken the oath twice before the oath was broken off."

I glanced down at my feet. Is that all I am to him? A mistake? A broken oath?

"So what's your point?" I asked, my voice coming out harsher than intended.

My father sighed. "Just be careful of Hades. I don't want my daughter getting blasted for existing."

That was it for me. "Existing? I could get killed for simply existing? And who's fault is that? Just because you broke some stupid oath doesn't give you the right to come waltzing back into my life, after abandoning my mom and I, and warning me that I could be punished brutally, for existing!"

It looked like Poseidon was about to say something, but lightning flashed and the sky rumbled.

"That would be my cue." Poseidon smiled sadly. "We will finish this later. Just know this. I loved you and your mother. I hated to leave, but I had to."

I watched as he melted back into the ocean waves, dissolving into the sea spray.

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up, not sure what to think. I felt a few tears slide down my cheeks before I could prevent it.

"Fish Girl? You okay?" I heard Leo's concerned voice next to me, and I wiped the tears off my cheeks with the palms of my hands.

"I-I'm fine."

Leo looked like he was going to press further, but fortunately for me, Nico turned the car right into a large parking lot in front of a gigantic hotel.

It looked more than ten stories tall, with a large fountain in the front, glistening in the moonlight. I hadn't realized how dark it was outside.

Sarah turned around in her seat to face us.

"We're here."

* * *

**Chappie #10 is done! What did you guys think? Review! I love feedback :D and I shall give you cookies.**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	11. Makeovers and Taco Fights

**A/N: Sorry I'm updating so fast. I'm just so excited about this story. That, and Sarah is threatening me (love ya, Sar!)**.

**COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! (::) (::) (::)**

**Disclaimer: I own PJO. I also have a pink sparkly unicorn and an alpaca named Alonzo. HA! I wish.**

* * *

~Nico~

I'm not sure what you think a five star hotel looks like, but this place was just... wow.

The building was at least ten or fifteen stories tall, and it seemed to glow in the darkness. The only place I'd been to that was remotely like this was the Lotus Casino.

I shivered; now's not the time to think about that.

We got out of the car and walked into the huge lobby. Sarah immediately looked breathtaken, and started muttering things about the architecture. Her eyebrows were scrunched up in concentration, and she looked extremely cute. Wait... what?! Did I just think that?

Briana had rushed up to one of the several paintings on the walls, talking about colors or something. Leo grabbed her arm and dragged her to the front desk, while I did the Same thing to Sarah.

The lady at the desk was a petite woman with caramel colored hair pulled back into a tight bun. She wore a pinstripe business suit with a pencil skirt and short black heels, making her look older than she probably was.

Me, being the anti-social loner that I am, I stepped back and let Briana handle it. She sighed and walked up to the desk, clearing her throat.

The woman glanced up once, taking in all four of us. We must've looked pretty weird, with just four backpacks and some grocery bags, the girls both wearing ripped up jeans and hoodies (Briana's jeans were even more ripped up after the gryphon incident). Leo looked pretty strange too, with his suspenders and grease stained shirt, and of course me, wearing all black and an aviator's jacket.

"May I help you?" She asked in an agitated voice.

"Do you have any hotel rooms with four queen sized beds?" Briana asked, leaning on the counter.

The lady rolled her eyes at Bri, and I saw Leo clench his fists. Wow, someone's whipped.

"Yes, sweetie, but those are the penthouses. I don't think kids like you could afford one of those." She snarled.

Bri smirked and held up Sarah's credit card. "Or can we?" She said, waving the card in front of the lady's face. "How much for one night?"

The lady clicked a few buttons before telling us the price. Bri swiped the card in that little machine-thingy, punched in the PIN number, and the lady grudgingly handed her a couple of key cards.

"Jackpot." She said, walking back to us.

"Never knew you could be so badass." Leo remarked playfully at her.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Valdez." She winked at him flirtatiously before turning and walking towards the elevator.

Leo chuckled and walked after her.

Sarah looked back and forth between the two of them. "There's definitely something going on between them."

"Tell me about it," I said. "Bri and Leo have been giving each other flirty smiles every chance they get."

Sarah agreed, and we started walking after them to the elevator. There was definitely something going on between those two. First, Bri lays her head down on Leo's lap in the car, then they're openly flirting with one another. I decided to question them about it later.

Sarah and I got in the elevator with them, and I reached for the top-floor button, but Leo stopped me.

"OOOH OOOH! I GET TO PUSH THE BUTTON!"

Briana and Sarah busted out laughing while I just rolled my eyes and stepped back.

Leo pushed the button, letting out a childish squeal as he did so. Briana rolled her eyes, but smiled.

We reached the top floor, where two penthouses were side-by-side. Bri slid the card through the slot at the door, and we stepped inside.

As soon as we entered, my breath caught in my throat. This place is HUGE.

One wall was entirely glass, giving us a breathtaking view of the city of Amarillo at night. The carpet was a cream color, with a sky blue shaggy circular rug. There were two brown couches and a chair around a large flat-screen TV high up on the wall. There were four bedrooms as promised, and two of them were upstairs. There was a set of stairs going up, but a winding slide to come down. There was a small kitchen with barstools and

"Wow." Was all I could say.

"I CALL AN UPSTAIRS BEDROOM!" Leo and Bri shouted at the exact same time, then ran up the stairs, trying to trip each other up.

Sarah shook her head and laughed. "Those two are perfect for each other." She remarked.

"No, they'll always hate each other's guts." I said sarcastically, and Sarah glared at me.

She and I claimed our rooms and met back up in the living area. I plopped down on one of the couches and grabbed the remote. I switched the channel to Criminal Minds. Sarah sat down next to me and stole the remote.

"Hey!" I complained, reaching for the remote. Sarah held it out of my reach and smirked at me. "Nuh uh uh!"

She clicked a button on the remote, changing the channel.

I immediately tried to grab for the remote again. "There's no way in Hades I'm watching Teen Wolf!" I exclaimed, finally snatching the remote back and changing it back to Criminal Minds.

This time, Sarah tried to reach for the remote. I held it out of her reach, so that she was splayed out across my lap, desperately reaching for the remote. I smirked at her, holding the remote even further.

"Gimme the remote, Goth Face." She breathed, trying to stretch her arms further.

I frowned. "Don't call me that."

"AWWWW! You two are so cute!" A shrill voice from behind us squealed.

Sarah jumped off of me and turned around, looking over the back of the couch. I jerked around, almost dropping the remote in the process. Sarah's voice squeaked when it came out, but I was too shocked to tease her about it.

"Aphrodite?!"

The goddess of love nodded, flashing us a smile. Strangely enough, I thought she looked a lot like Sarah at one point, with strawberry blonde hair and blue-gray eyes, but her appearance changes so often, I couldn't be sure.

"Now, where are the other two lovebirds at?" Aphrodite looked around.

I finally found my voice. "U-upstairs."

"Could you call them down, dear?" She asked me, and I nodded blankly.

"LEO! BRI!" I shouted in the direction of the slide.

Less than three seconds later, we heard sets of feet pounding above us and intense shouting.

"FLAME BOY GET YOUR ASS OUTTA MY WAY!"

"YOU KNOW YOU LOVE MY SEXINESS!"

"YOU WISH! NOW MOVE IT!"

"NO, I'M GONNA GO ON THE SLIDE FIRST!"

"NUH UH! MOVE IT REPAIR BOY!"

Briana came sliding down, with Leo tumbling down the slide after her. They both landed very ungracefully at the bottom, because Leo flipped over Bri so that she landed on top of him. They both sat up, groaning.

"Well!" Aphrodite's chipper voice sounded. "If it isn't my favorite couple! Besides Helen and Paris, and Percabeth, of course. Both excellent love stories."

I stared at them. Couple? When did this happen?

I was about to ask, but Sarah beat me to it.

"COUPLE?!" She shouted.

Leo and Bri both had slightly guilty looks on their faces. Bri smiled guiltily. "Surprise?"

Aphrodite clapped her perfectly manicured fingernails together, thankfully preventing Sarah from ripping Leo's and Bri's throats out.

Leo and Bri sat on the couch to the right of ours, still looking slightly guilty.

"Now, do you demigods know why I have come?" Aphrodite asked, and we all shook our heads no.

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Well, Mr. di Angelo, I came to lecture you about getting the guts to ask Sarah here out. I'm the goddess of love; I can sense it."

I'm sure I must've looked as red as one of Apollo's sacred cows, if not redder. I looked over at Sarah; she was looking down, face tomato red.

Leo and Briana just looked plain awkward. That is, until Aphrodite started lecturing them.

"I know Leana's real now, but I haven't seen any action!" Aphrodite chirped.

"Hold up," Leo said, sticking his hand out. "First, what the heck is Leana? Second, we've only been together for not even a day."

Aphrodite giggled, her eyes changing like a kaleidoscope. "Leana is your couple name, duh! As for both your dating situations," She said, glancing at me, "I think... got it! I'd make you all confess your love, but the girls need to look the part first."

What?

Aphrodite snapped her fingers, and both Briana and Sarah began to glow. Both of them looked confused, and jumped off the couches.

"What-" Bri said.

"the-" Sarah interrupted.

"fuck-" Bri continued.

"is happening?" Sarah finished.

When the glow died down, I was as a total loss for words. Sarah was fitted in a Greek-style dress, except it was fully black with gold trimming. Instead of having golden straps, it was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline. She wore dark, dramatic makeup, like heavy eyeliner and dark gray eyeshadow that made her blue-gray eyes pop. There were black bangles on her upper arms, and her hair was braided down her back with a black ribbon. My throat was completely dry.

I glanced over at Leo and saw that he was staring at Bri, speechless, and trying not to drool.

She was wearing the same thing as Sarah, but instead of black and gold, the dress was a fiery red color with gold trimming. Instead of black bangles on her arms, she wore shiny golden ones. Her chocolate brown hair was styled half up, half down, and was intricately curled down her back. She had on thin black eyeliner with golden eyeliner above it, and light red eyeshadow.

She was pretty, and probably beautiful to Leo, but my attention was focused on Sarah. She looked... wow.

Aphrodite clapped her hands and giggled. "Excellent! Now, girls, twirl for Nico and Leo please!" She squealed, pouring a bit of her charmspeak into her voice.

Sarah and Briana twirled at the same time, and my breath caught in my throat. When Sarah twirled, her dress looked like it was made of shadows.

Briana's dress looked like it was made of flames when she twirled, and Leo shook his head, then stared at her again.

"This should surely help things along! You'll be confessing love in no time!" Aphrodite cooed, then disappeared in a puff of pink perfume.

* * *

~Sarah~

As soon as that annoying goddess of love left, leaving us choking on her perfume, Briana and I both ran to the bathroom.

"Why didn't you tell me about you and Leo?!" I asked as soon as she shut the door.

She sighed and slid down so that she was sitting with her knees up to her chest. "I didn't want to make it awkward for you and Nico." She said quietly. "We were going to wait to tell you until after the quest. I'm sorry."

I rolled my eyes and sat down next to her. "It's fine, Bri. Just never keep secrets from me again."

She smiled and we both stood up. "Deal. Now let's get this stupid makeup off."

"Agreed."

For the next two hours, Bri and I tried to wash the makeup off, and mess up our hair, but it kept popping back into place, like Nico told me how Piper's did when she was claimed.

Aphrodite, that evil barbie.

Bri groaned in frustration as her chocolate curls popped back into place for the hundredth time. "I want this stupid stuff off of me!" She yelled, now trying once again to wash off her bright red lipstick, but the makeup magically reapplied itself.

I tried to wipe off this annoying eyeliner, but the same thing happened to me. Eventually, we gave up, and I marched to my room, avoiding Nico and finding that I could change clothes with no problem.

I slipped on a pair of gray pajama shorts that I found in one of the drawers, and a camp t-shirt, and joined everyone else in the living area.

Bri had also changed clothes, into light blue pajama shorts and her light gray oversized hoodie. She and I still had our perfect hairstyles and makeup, but now I didn't feel so... fake, now that I had changed clothes.

We both sat at barstools, seeing that Leo was in the kitchen making tacos while Nico was sitting on a couch awkwardly staring at me.

Leo spotted us and leaned on the counter in front of Bri.

"We NEVER speak of this. Understand?" Bri grabbed the collar of Leo shirt.

Leo had the nerve to laugh. He detached his shirt from Bri's grip and came around the counter to Bri's side, and slung his arm over her shoulder. "You looked pretty sexy there, Ocean Chick."

Bri raised her eyebrow. "Ocean Chick?"

Leo shrugged and I laughed. He slid over the counter smoothly, but ruined it by crashing to the floor in the middle of the kitchen. "Ow!" He said, causing Bri and I to laugh harder.

Leo scowled and turned back to making his tacos. Nico came up and sat in the barstool beside me. I immediately had the tip of my dagger at his throat. "We never, ever speak of this. Got it?" I commanded, referring to the little makeover I got, if you could call it little. Nico looked so surprised that he almost fell off his stool.

Nico gulped. "Yes ma'am." I rolled my eyes and sheathed my dagger.

Leo popped up with three platters full of tacos, one balanced on each hand, and the other balanced on his head. "How about some tacos at three in the morning? Good times."

Bri laughed and grabbed the taco platter from his head and set it down in front of her.

Leo set the other two down on the counter, then sat on the barstool beside Briana and snatched a taco.

Briana shoved the taco in Leo's face. Nico and I started laughing hysterically while Leo wiped the sour cream and meat off his face.

Leo grabbed a fistful of meat, sour cream and vegetables from another taco and threw it at Bri, smacking her in the face. Bri wiped the taco ingredients out of her eyes.

"VALDEZ!"

And that's when all Hades broke loose.

Pretty soon, all of us were throwing taco ingredients at each other, ducking behind couches and anything to avoid being hit by flying Mexican food.

I lept behind a chair as Nico chucked a wad of sour cream at me, and it splattered across the wall next to me. I laughed and threw a taco that hit him square in the face.

Leo threw taco at Briana, but she ducked and it hit the window behind her. She calmly walked up to Leo and smeared a taco in his hair.

A few hours later (yes, that's how long the taco fight lasted), Nico, Leo, Bri and I were sprawled out on the floor, covered head to toe in tacos, laughing our heads off.

I'm glad that I have such great friends on this quest.

* * *

**YAY FOR TACO FIGHTS! Good times, good times. **

**Review! Love ya'll!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	12. Burnt Bacon and a Mercedes

**A/N: Hey guys! Chapter twelve is here! I apologize for the kind of long wait. School started back up a few days ago, and since it's my first year of high school, it was pretty hectic. **

**Anyway, as always, I warn that characters such as Leo and Nico are probably a little OOC, and I apologize. I've tried to write as best I can.**

**Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it anymore?! **

**And by the way, I don't own any songs by Green Day or Fall Out Boy. I don't own the bands either.**

* * *

~Briana~

I groggily slipped my eyelids open, squinting when my eyes were hit with the light flooding through the large glass wall. I felt sticky, so I glanced at my shirt, and found it was covered in dried white stuff. Ick.

It took me a few seconds to remember what had happened last night.

The whole incident with Aphrodite and the taco fight came flooding back into my mind. Apparently, we had all fallen asleep, still covered in taco ingredients. Wonderful.

I glanced around, and saw that Nico had fallen asleep against a wall, head lolled to the side; and Sarah was sprawled out on the floor like a gigantic X, arms and legs splayed outwards. I let out a breath of relief when I saw that her magical makeup had faded. That meant mine probably did, too. I almost laughed when I heard that she was snoring.

I realized my head wasn't on the floor, but resting on someone's stomach. Leo. His legs were thrown up on the couch, while lying on his back on the floor.

All of us were covered head to toe in sticky sour cream, cheese, salsa, tomatoes, and anything else you could possibly think of as part of a taco. I gingerly sat up, then began poking Leo in the stomach.

Poke.

He stirred a little bit, and murmured something about tacos.

Poke.

He swatted my hand away and I grinned.

Poke.

His eyes finally snapped open. I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty."

He rolled his eyes and yawned widely. "Mornin' babe. Are they awake?" He tiredly gestured to Sarah and Nico. I shook my head and he smirked. Uh oh. Leo's got an idea. That's almost never a good thing.

"What stupid idea do you have now, Flame Boy?" I put my hands on my hips.

"It's not stupid, it's pure genius."

"Mhm."

"Trust me, Fish Girl."

"Don't call me that."

"You know you love it."

Before I could protest, Leo sprinted upstairs, leaving me wondering what the heck he was about to do. I just fell back on the couch, not caring that it was covered with taco. I needed to take a shower anyway.

After a few minutes, Leo came tumbling down the slide, landing in a heap on the ground.

"Ow." He muttered, and I laughed at his expression. He quickly recovered and jumped up to a standing position, holding an air horn. My eyes widened. "Leo, both Sarah and Nico will murder you."

He just waved off my warning and told me to block my ears. I rolled my eyes but did what he said, sticking my fingers in my ears to block out sound. I watched from the couch as Leo sauntered over to where Sarah and Nico were sleeping and squeeze the horn. I could still faintly hear it, and let me tell you, I really wouldn't want to be woken up by that.

Sarah jerked into a sitting position, strawberry blonde hair frizzy and eyes wild. Nico's eyes popped open, and he immediately stood up and pulled out his stygian iron sword, as if on reflex. His black hair was shaggier than usual and his eyes were as wild as Sarah's.

I couldn't help myself; as soon as I saw their crazed expressions, I busted out laughing. Leo grinned back at me and started laughing too. It really shouldn't have been that funny, but cut us some slack. We're on a crazy quest to the Underworld.

"What's going on?" Nico asked confusedly, which only made me laugh harder.

Sarah on the other hand, being a daughter of the goddess of wisdom, quickly stood up and shot Leo a death glare. "If you ever do that again, I will personally rip your arm off and shove it down your throat."

Leo shrugged off the death threat and stuck the air horn in his tool belt. Wait a second. Why did Leo have an air horn in his room anyways?

I decided to let it go.

"Ugh," I groaned, looking down at the sticky mess of clothes and felt...is that salsa in my hair?

"I know," Sarah said. "I need a shower."

I instantly agreed with her. Thankfully, Aphrodite's magical 'beauty blessing' had worn off, but that also meant my hair probably looked like a salsa-covered rats' nest.

Nico had sheathed his sword, finally, and was glaring at Nico.

"Thanks for the wake up, Valdez." He said sarcastically, and Leo just responded with a grin.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Whatever, losers. I'm taking a shower." She walked towards the bathroom, which meant I got the one on the second floor.

"I'm gonna go take a shower also. You should take one too, Repair Boy." I commented when I saw how he was also covered in taco.

He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Are you saying you want me to shower with you?"

My cheeks turned bright red, but I pointed a finger at him. "You," I said, "have a dirty mind, Valdez."

"I call it a sexy imagination." Leo said, and I shoved him jokingly before sprinting upstairs. I grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and stepped inside the bathroom, locking the door for good measure.

I hummed to the tune of _Wake Me Up When September Ends_, by Green Day, and washed all the icky day-old salsa out of my hair. I shampooed and conditioned, leaving it clean and shiny.

After my nice, refreshing shower, I changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeve blue v-neck. Hey, it's still January, which means it's cold outside. I have to dress for the weather.

When I got downstairs, err, slid downstairs, I could already smell something burning.

"Put it out!"

"I'm trying!"

"The bacon's burnt!"

"Not my fault!"

"Technically it is, Valdez!"

"...touché."

Sarah was sitting on the couch, watching in amusement as the boys argued about bacon in the kitchen. I guess they were trying to make breakfast while Sarah and I were gone, but apparently were failing miserably.

I almost did a double-take when I glanced at Sarah. She's wearing glasses. Personally, I think glasses are cool, but I didn't know she wore them.

"You have glasses?" I ask as I sit down beside her. She just smiles back at me. "Yeah. I was wearing contacts since I started on Broadway."

I nodded. "I think glasses are awesome."

She grinned at me. Just then, large splash sounded from the kitchen, then a loud thump. Sarah and I shared an amused and slightly worried glance before getting up.

"Leo?" I called, stepping into the kitchen. He was desperately trying to put out the flaming bacon. I grabbed a bottle of water and poured some of it on the bacon, putting out the fire.

Leo grinned rather sheepishly. "Yeah...we could've done that earlier..."

Sarah came in behind me, and Nico and Leo froze. Nico was the first to break the silence. "You have glasses?"

Sarah nodded, looking rather embarrassed. "Don't

worry," Nico said. "I think they're cute on you."

Sarah blushed and looked down at her shoes while I grinned. Nico seemed to realize what he just said, because his cheeks turned crimson. Leo interrupted the slightly awkward silence.

"Who wants burnt bacon?"

* * *

About an hour after the bacon incident, we all shouldered our backpacks and checked out of the hotel. Leo had decided to steal the little shampoo and conditioner bottles, saying that they wanted you to steal them.

We had to hijack another car; It was fairly easy to find a luxury car in the five-star hotel parking lot.

We all piled in a black Mercedes SLK, Leo driving and me in the shotgun seat, which meant Sarah and Nico were in the back.

Leo pulled out of the parking lot. I turned up the radio, but no good songs were on. I huffed in disappointment, but Sarah handed me a Fall Out Boy CD that she must have found...maybe back at the gas station? I popped it in, and we jammed out to _Thanks For the Memories_.

"Where are we going now?" I yelled over the music. We had turned the volume up pretty loud.

"We'll pass through New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, then we'll be in California!" Leo yelled back. Instead of responding, I just nodded and went back to rocking out to the music.

We had been driving for about sixteen hours, and it was about two in the morning. Sarah and Nico had fallen asleep in the back, not on each other this time. I could see the stars clearly, seeing as we're on a small road in the middle of nowhere. Trees covered one side of the road while a grassy field covered the other.

Leo glanced over at me and grinned. "Keep your eyes on the road." I commanded, smiling.

Suddenly the car started slowing down drastically, the engine noises fading.

"Leo? What's going on?" I asked nervously. His brown eyes glanced down at the controls. "This is definitely not good. We're out of gas."

Out of gas? Great timing. Now we're stuck somewhere in Utah. Leo pulled over to the side of the road as the car finally stopped. I knew if we stayed here too long, the police would find us. No doubt they're already close.

"Guys," I said, poking Sarah and Nico. "Guys, wake up."

Sarah's eyes shot open, and she yawned. "Are we there?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

"No," I said. "The car ran out of gas, and if we stay here the police will probably find us."

Sarah's eyes widened and she shook Nico awake. We explained everything to him. Soon enough, Leo, Nico, Sarah and I were sprinting through the woods carrying our backpacks. We had just abandoned the car on the side of the road. Hopefully, the police would find it and call a tow company to take it back to it's owner.

The crisp January air stung my eyes as we ran, and I hugged my hoodie closer to my body. Good thing I slipped it and my Uggs on before we left. We stopped after about ten minutes. We all collapsed on the forest floor, breathing heavily.

We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with the police possibly chasing us, and only have the supplies in our backpacks, which means no tents or sleeping bags.

Great. Just great.

* * *

**What did ya think? They're stuck in the middle of Utah!**

**I'm going to start doing PJO Trivia! I've started this on another story, but I decided I'd start it on this one. I'll recite a random quote from one of the PJO or HOO books, and you can answer by reviewing who said it and in which book. Good? Good. I'll start out easy. Here's the quote:**

**"Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."**

**Review my lovelies!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	13. Memories and Scary Nightmares

**A/N: I am so sorry for my absence! I've been so busy since school started up. I've had homework every night, legit.**

**PLEASE READ: I did update chapter twelve before school started, but for anyone who is following this story, it didn't notify you because I just replaced that Author's Note with the actual Chapter 12. So if you haven't read that chapter, I suggest you go back and read it, or this chapter might not make sense. **

**Last chapter, I started up a "Quote Trivia" type game, where I recite a quote from one of the PJO or HOO books, and you guys review who said it in which book. I'm going to repeat the same quote in the bottom Author's Note.**

**Disclaimer: I own PJO!**

**Leo: *Scans me with lie detector* No you don't!**

**Me: Dang it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

~Sarah~

I finally collapsed on the ground, trying to remember how to breathe in the freezing January wind. In, out, in, out, in, out.

The chilly breeze blew my hair to the side, sweeping it across the back of my neck. I shivered and pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders. A slightly awkward silence approached us as we heavily drew in breaths of cold oxygen. We just sat there for a moment, catching our breath.

Bri was the first to speak. "We need to make camp. Leo?"

"I got the fire and food covered. Booyah!" Leo shouted and raised his hands in the air, both clenched in fists.

"Oooh-kayy... Anyway, how are we gonna rock this?" Bri looked worried, and I didn't blame her. We have no sleeping bags, no mode of transportation, and no cover, like a tent or something.

I sighed. "We improvise. Find a soft patch of ground to sleep on or something. Good thing we all have jackets."

"Except for moi," Leo pointed out. "but I can use my fire power to raise my body temperature just a little."

"You've done that before?"

"Almost melted an ice-bridge. Don't ask."

"Okay, so we're all good, then." Briana set her backpack down on a log and started gathering firewood, and I stood up to help her. I glanced at Nico, who was just sitting down on a rock, looking like the depressed son of Hades he is.

"Well?" I looked at him pointedly. He just stared back at me, a confused look in is eyes. I sighed in exasperation. "Are you going to get off your lazy butt and help us or not?"

That got him moving. We each gathered suitable firewood, while Leo got out ingredients for tacos from his tool belt.

"Really? Tacos, again?" Bri questioned him. He shrugged. "You want me to make something else? Tacos are the bomb, chica."

Bri rolled her eyes and picked up another few branches. "You're so unoriginal."

Eventually we had made a fairly good size pile of branches. Leo lit the tip of his finger, sticking it into the middle of the thick of wooden limbs, and setting them ablaze with a warm, red glow.

I couldn't help but think of how hopeless this quest is at the moment. Here we are, stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing. What if we don't find the stolen item in the Underworld in time? If it isn't found, who knows what kind of problems that would create?

I sat cross-legged in front of the fire, letting the comforting heat burn all my worries away. I hadn't even realized how late it was; we had long since finished eating our tacos. Bri and Leo had both fallen asleep. Leo was lying behind a log on a soft patch of grass, and Bri was positioned on a log a few meters away, breathing softly through her nose, leaving Nico and I alone.

I risked a glance over at the son of Hades. His long black hair hangs over his eyes, which are almost as dark as his hair. It's almost too dark out to see clearly, even with the firelight giving off a rosy glow; but I know he's wearing black jeans and his aviator's jacket, as usual.

I watch as he just stares into the fire, seemingly lost in its red-orange depths. His eyebrows are pinched together, so I can see that he's upset.

The words spill out of my mouth before I can stop them. "Are you okay?"

Nico glances up at me, startled. "Yeah, I... I'm fine."

"You don't sound so sure." I stand up and walk around the fire, plopping down next to Nico, and give him a worried look. He sighed in what I hoped was defeat. I really want to know what he's so upset about.

"It's just... I've always been the outcast, you know? Not that I mind, really. I mean, solitude is generally in my nature," he begins, and I laugh a little at the last part.

I see the ghost of a smile on his lips, but it disappears as quickly as it came. "The only other person who remotely knows what my life has been like is my half-sister, Hazel. Did you know that she was born in the 1940's?"

I shook my head. Hazel's a friend, of course, but I don't really know her well enough for her to tell me. Is that why she always fans herself around PDA?

"Well, she was. Long story short, she died, and I brought her back on one of my visits to the Underworld."

"So how else does that relate to you?" I asked, not with scorn, but pure curiosity, although I had a pretty good idea of where this is going.

Nico breathed deeply through his nose and continued, not looking me in the eyes. "I was actually born before the second World War, before the big three made that stupid oath."

"Then how are you...here?"

"My sister and I got put in the Lotus Hotel and Casino by one of the Furies. Evidently, we stayed in there for about seventy years. Then one of the Furies, disguised as a lawyer, came and fetched us, then stuck us in a military school."

"Oh." Was all I could think of to say, which was pretty unusual considering the fact that the goddess of wisdom is my mom. I decided to ask another question. "What exactly is the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

Nico sighed and ran his hand through his raven hair. "It's this hotel in Las Vegas. It has everything - arcade games, indoor bungee jumping, any game you could think of, but there's a catch: time passes ridiculously fast in there. My sister and I thought we were only in there for a month."

"Wow," I breathed. It was a lot to take in. I can't imagine how Nico and his sister reacted to the news. "You keep mentioning a sister," I remarked. "Who is she?"

"Her name was Bianca. She became a Hunter of Artemis when we first met Percy, Annabeth and Thalia. She died about four years ago o-on a quest." Nico's voice cracked. I didn't like seeing him so heartbroken.

I scooted closer and took his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. "I'm so sorry, Nico. I bet she was a wonderful person."

Nico nodded, staring at our hands. "She was. And thanks for listening, Sarah."

"Anytime."

Nico yawned and stood up. "I think we'd better get some sleep if we're going to be any use tomorrow."

I laughed and stood up next to him. "That would probably be a good idea."

I found myself a soft patch of leaves near the base of a tree and settled down. Sleep overtook me almost instantly.

Three fingers. That's how many fingers I was hanging by. I was dangling over a gloomy pit, trying desperately not to fall. I don't know what lies at the bottom, if there is a bottom.

All I knew was that if I let go, I would be consumed by the darkness.

I tried to scream for help, but my throat was dry. Shadows morphed and moved around me, giving the place just the right touch of creepiness.

Evil whispers drowned out the silence, promises of death and destruction. A scream finally tore out of my throat, a high-pitched, bloodcurdling screech.

Two fingers. I breathed in, out, in, out. My body was functioning on adrenaline alone. My clothes were soaked with sweat, clinging to my skin. Every inch of my body ached, and I completely gave up hope.

My middle finger slipped off the edge, and I winced.

One finger. My index finger. There's no way I can hold myself up on just one finger. It began to slide, and I winced.

My finger finally slipped, and I hurtled into the choking darkness.

"Sarah."

The darkness completely consumed me.

"Sarah!"

I flailed around, trying to find something to latch on to, but I had given up hope.

"SARAH!"

I sat up, sweat rolling down my forehead. I took deep breaths and tried to calm my pounding heart. Just a dream; it was just a dream.

My vision came into focus and I saw three worried faces in front of mine: Bri, Leo and Nico.

"You okay, Sar?" Bri asked, the concern evident in her voice. I nodded and gave a weak smile. "Just a nightmare." I sounded more like I was trying to convince myself. I remember what Annabeth had told me about demigod dreams; I really hope whatever that was doesn't happen.

"I'm fine guys, really."

They all exchanged worried looks, but didn't press further. I'd tell them later.

Leo cleared his throat. "We, uh, should probably get moving."

* * *

**So what did you guys think? I apologize for the short length. I had a bit of writer's block.**

**Quote Trivia time!**

**"Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."**

**Now just review who said that quote in which book, and I'll give shoutouts next chappie!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	14. Manticores and Broken Ankles

**A/N: Greetings, fellow demigods! I'm back with another chapter! Yay!**

**I can't believe we've almost passed the 60-reviews mark! This is amazing! Awesome sauce!**

**Shout out time! For those of you who gave me the correct answer of Percy Jackson in the Sea of Monsters, here's your shout outs:**

**_Mila-is-a-bookworm-101_**

**_percabeth_**

**_Eclaire von choc_**

**_Tazmaster_**

**_Team Leo_**

**_athenasgirl104_**

**Great job, guys! Keep it up! There's more Quote Trivia in the bottom A/N!**

**Disclaimer: PJO is not mine! I've never owned it and probably never will! Excuse me. *Goes and cries in a corner***

**Enjoy!**

* * *

~Leo~

I may not be foreign to extreme temperatures, especially since that evil ice princess Khione, but I can tell you one thing: walking for hours in the forest in freezing weather is not fun.

As soon as Sarah had woken up, and managed to convince us (NOT) that her demigod dream was just a normal nightmare, we had shouldered our bags and set off.

Our feet crunched the twigs and dry leaves on the forest floor, making it near impossible to move quietly. I wondered if there were any monsters in the area. Highly likely.

Everything else was eerily silent around us, as if something had drained all the life and color. I hated it.

Nico was the first to break the unearthly silence. "How big is this forest?"

Bri answered him. "I can climb a tree and check. I love trees." She had both hands plunged into her hoodie's one large pocket in the front, with her backpack slung over both shoulders. I could see that she was shivering. Climbing might warm her up.

"Sure. Go ahead." I stopped and leaned against a tree.

Sarah nodded thoughtfully. "Seems like a good idea. You can also look to see if there are any monsters."

With that, Bri walked up to the nearest tree, and swung herself on to the first limb gracefully, scaling the tree in no time. She seemed to always have her weight balanced correctly, so as to not apply too much pressure to the thinner branches. I walked over and shouted up, "Hey! Did you ace jungle-gym in preschool or something?"

She smirked back down at me, "Top of my class," and looked outward. She scanned the area around her, her brown eyes darting from one direction to the next.

"Oh my gods! Guys-" Bri started, with a hint of warning in her voice, but didn't get to finish.

Something burst out of the trees, shooting what looked like sharp spikes that stuck into the trunk of the tree Bri was in.

She shrieked as the tree quivered. Why would spikes affect a tree like that?

"Poisoned spikes!" Sarah shouted above the roar of the monster, unsheathing her dagger.

Maybe that's why.

The tree toppled, spilling Briana onto the ground in a pile of branches with a sharp crack. I heard Bri squeal in pain, and winced.

I pulled out my flaming hammer out of the tool belt; it had been prepared this time. Thanks, I told it.

"We can't beat him!" Nico yelled as we all scrambled to dodge another round of poisoned spikes. "What do you mean, we can't beat it?!" I shouted back.

"The last time I fought a manticore," Nico sucked in a sharp breath, "We only beat it when the Hunters showed up, and even then, it ended up leaping off a cliff with Annabeth!"

"Is that what this thing is? A manticore?"

"What else?"

I thought for a moment. We need to get out of here.

"We could always try shadow travel!"

Sarah yelled pointedly at Nico.

He hesitated, but rushed over to us, grabbing both our hands and dragging us towards the pile of tangled branches where Bri was trapped. Slamming the flaming hammer back into my tool belt, I grabbed her outstretched hand, and we melted into the shadows.

Four words about shadow traveling: IT. WAS. AWESOME. SAUCE.

We moved so fast through pitch blackness that my face felt like it was peeling off. There were evil whispers all around us, but I ignored them. At last, the four of us tumbled on to the wet pavement of Los Angeles.

The flashing neon lights reflected in the puddles of the bust street, which we had unfortunately landed on. We rushed to the side of the road as a Lexus missed us-by just an inch. Rude people.

Bri winced as she put weight on to her left foot. She saw me looking and straightened up, trying to stop her face from contorting in pain. I saw right through it, but decided to leave her be, at least until we have to move.

"So, this is Los Angeles. It's as flashy as I imagined it." Sarah crossed her arms and gazed around at the bright lights and speeding cars.

I tapped my chin, "Eh, I'd imagined it with more pizazz." I commented, holding my hands out in front of me, as if examining the city. Nico rolled his eyes. "Come on, guys. D.O.A Recording Studios shouldn't be far from here."

Nico pointed south, and we all started walking. I heard a loud shriek from behind me, and saw Bri crouching on the ground, her hands clutching her ankle.

Sarah bent down beside her, and inspected her injury. After about thirty seconds, she shook her head and stood up. "Broken." She muttered.

"Piggyback ride?" I suggested. Bri rolled her eyes, but used her good leg to stand up and jump on to my back. I put my hands under her knees and shifted, adjusting myself so that I could carry her weight easily. Hey, working in Bunker Nine all the time gives us Hephaestus kids some strength.

She looped her arms around my shoulders so she wouldn't fall backwards. "Let's go!"

~Briana~

Having a broken ankle sucks. Just going to tell you straight out. It absolutely sucks.

I feel so useless, Leo having to give me a piggyback ride while they all walk. Nico and Sarah are now sporting two backpacks each, Nico carrying Leo's and Sarah carrying mine, making me feel extra useless.

Sarah had given me ambrosia, but it can't heal broken bones very quickly. Nico said it would take at least two days to mend completely.

The pain had faded into a dull throb instead of full-out torture mode, which helped, but didn't make me feel any better. I'm still dysfunctional either way.

We must have looked pretty weird: four kids walking on the side of the road, one on another kid's back, while two of them carry backpacks and I'm pretty sure we all looked (and felt) like shit. But hey, sleeping in a cold forest and getting attacked by a random manticore does that to ya.

"Why didn't we just shadow travel in the first place?" I heard Sarah ask.

Nico sighed. "I wanted to, but shadow traveling is very unreliable at times and is extremely nauseating for beginners. I slept for an entire week once, after shadow traveling."

"Wow. Okay, I get it now." Sarah brushed a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.

I stopped listening to their conversation and instead, buried my face in the back of Leo's neck.

I hate feeling useless. I'm not generally used to it. I'm used to having to look out for myself. I love my mom, but she gets distant sometimes, probably thinking of my father.

Poseidon. I know why he had to leave, so I don't know why I'm angry at him. Maybe it's the way he had practically called my existence a mistake. I clenched my jaw.

"We're here!" I heard Nico announce, and I looked up, seeing the bright sign that read:

_D.O.A. RECORDING STUDIOS_

* * *

**What did ya think? Like it? Awesome! Hate it? I couldn't care less!**

**Anyways, ready for the next round of Quote Trivia? I know I am! Here's the quote:**

**"Be careful of love. It'll twist your brain around and leave you thinking up is down and right is wrong."**

**Remember, review who said this quote in which book, and you shall get a shout out in the next chapter, Chapter 15!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	15. The Underworld and Pomegranates

**A/N: I am so sorry for my absence! I have four projects due next week so I've been busy *dodges knives and pitchforks***

**This chapter is really short, and I'm sorry for that too. This was sort of a filler chapter. Don't worry, we'll get to the action in the next couple of chapters. **

**SHOUT OUT TIME! Those who guess the correct answer of Hephaestus in the Battle of the Labyrinth:**

**PurpleRoseFromYou**

**Team Leo**

**Ssj4mars**

**Tazmaster**

**Great job guys! Remember, to get a shout out, you must review who said the quote, in which book.**

**Disclaimer: HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THIS?! I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON!**

**Enjoy, my lovelies!**

* * *

~Nico~

The main entrance to my father's realm looked the same as always: a random studio obscured by the Mist. Since I am a son of Hades, I could probably get us in without any trouble. I could shadow travel, but I don't know if they'd be able to handle it- especially Bri with her broken ankle. There was no telling how she'd land.

We walked into the recording studio. Charon (yes, I know his name) was in his usual expensive Italian suit, sitting behind the counter and observing the spirits.

Many of the spirits were pestering us, which made me frustrated to the point of grabbing Sarah's hand and freaking dragging her to the front desk. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went red. I'm sure I didn't look much better, but I ignored it as Charon 'greeted' us.

"What do you want, kids?"

Sarah cleared her throat. "Uh..we'd like to go to the Underworld."

Charon glanced at her passively, then narrowed his eyes at me. "If I am not mistaken, you are Hades's son, are you not?"

"I am."

Charon blinked, a slightly frightened look on his face, as if I could report him to Hades any time. I rolled my eyes. "Can we go in now?"

Charon shook his head. "O-oh, of course sir. Come this way."

He loaded us and a few other spirits on to the boat in the River Styx, and started paddling.

Leo and Bri were sitting next to each other, looking a bit apprehensive and holding hands. Probably to reassure that there's other live people on this boat.

I felt a warm hand slip into mine. I glanced to my right; Sarah was looking a bit nervous herself. I gave her a reassuring squeeze. She turned to me and smiled, making butterflies erupt in my stomach. Woah, where did that come from?

I didn't have time to ponder about it, because just then, the boat hit the black, sandy shore in front of the EZ DEATH line.

We loaded off, and Leo helped Bri on to his back again, despite her protests.

"But Leo-"

"No."

"I can walk on my own-"

"Get on."

"...fine."

We passed through the EZ DEATH line without any problem. Cerberus paid us no attention, with me being a son of Hades and all. I grinned and petted one of his heads.

The Fields of Asphodel were teeming with spirits. Some came up to us and spoke to me. Leo, Bri and Sarah couldn't understand them, but I guess being a child of the god of the Underworld has its perks.

We kept walking towards my father's palace, which I could faintly see in the distance. The black obsidian walls loomed over the Underworld, Persephone's garden in the front adding an extra-creepy touch. Not that I minded that sort of thing.

We continued to trudge through the yellow grass, occasionally stopping to let Leo rest and regroup.

"What's the plan after we find out what was stolen?" I heard Leo ask. Sarah rolled her eyes. "Simple. We find it, and take it back."

"Logical." Bri commented from her perch on Leo's back. Sarah scowled. "Shut up."

Persephone's garden truly did look magical, in an eerie sort of way. Colorful mushrooms grew in patches at the bases of pomegranate trees, while plants and flowers gave off a luminescent glow. Clumps of rubies and diamonds as large as softballs sparkled among the flowers. Plump, juicy pomegranates grew from the trees, red and inviting. But I knew that once you took a bite of one, you would be stuck in the Underworld for eternity.

"Are those things edible?" Leo asked, pointing to the pomegranates. I almost answered, but Bri cut me off. "No, you dimwit. Not unless you want to stay here forever."

"Oh."

I tried not to roll my eyes at his dumb response.

At last we'd reached the doors to my father's palace. The skeletal guards, this time dressed as soldiers from the American Revolution, blocked our path. "What is your business here?"

I smirked and stepped forward, dragging Sarah along with me. I hadn't realized that we were still holding hands.

"I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. If you'll excuse me, we'd like to see my father."

The guards glanced me up and down, apparently deciding I was indeed telling the truth, and let us through.

* * *

**SUCH A SHORT SUCKY CHAPTER! Bear with me, please.**

**QuoteTrivia time!**

**"Oh... I mean, suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."**

**Now just tell me who said it, in which book, and you'll get a shoutout!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	16. Game Plan Time

**A/N: Greetings, my wonderful readers! I bestow upon you the sixteenth chapter of Daughter of the Sea!**

**I am truly sorry for the long wait and how the previous chapter was so short, but schoolwork sucks. It truly does.**

**Now for shout outs! Here are those who gave me the correct answer of Leo from the Lost Hero:**

**girlrobin99**

**HikaruKaoruLoverForever**

**Team Leo**

**kmc995**

**Mila-is-a-bookworm-101**

**athenasgirl102**

**Sunstar Writer**

**Tazmaster**

**Great job guys! Ya'll are totally awesomesauce! Remember, to get a shout out you must review who said the quote in what book. Now, on to ze chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own an Italian zebra striped bunny, and I don't own Percy Jackson. Get it? Got it? Good.**

* * *

~Sarah~

Nico dragged me inside the palace, while Leo carried Bri. The guards let us through the black obsidian doors, walking behind us with their guns pressed in between our shoulderblades. Precaution, I guess.

A million thoughts jumbled around in my head; so many things that could go wrong, too many ways to mess up. I didn't realize I was breathing faster until I felt Nico's warm hand give mine a reassuring squeeze.

Finally, the guards in front of us opened the large black double doors that led into the throne room. I looked behind me at Bri on Leo's back, and she nodded at me to go ahead.

Long story short, the throne room looked like a big room of death. Which was to be expected, seeing as Hades is lord of the dead. The throne appeared to be fused of human bones, white as though they had just been freshly cleaned. Only the best for a god's throne, I suppose. Black torches blazed with Greek fire lined the dark walls, giving the room an eerie green glow.

Hades sat on his throne, in black silken robes—which seemed to have agonized faces stitched into the fabric—and a braided gold crown. I could feel is aura of power, but I didn't so much as flinch.

Nico stepped forward, his sneakers tapping on the cold black floor. "Father."

Hades focused his attention on his son, and replied, "Son. What brings you and your...friends...to the Underworld?"

"We were given a prophecy." Bri said from Leo's back. Nico and I nodded. "It said something had been stolen, and we're supposed to get it back?" Nico hinted, staring defiantly at his father.

Hades's carefree atmosphere immediately turned dark. "Ah. Yes. One of my lesser known weapons has been stolen recently."

I racked my brain. A lesser known weapon of Hades. The image of a two-pointed pitchfork type thing popped up into my head, and I blurted out, "That two pronged fork. That's what was stolen."

Hades gave me a look of grudging respect. "Indeed. I do not know the exact location of the thief, or who the thief is. However, I do know that whoever it is still resides in the Underworld. The security systems can sense it."

Leo nodded. "By the way, what kind of security systems do you have? Are they magical or mechanical? Because if they're mechanical-"

Leo was cut off by Briana slapping her hand over his mouth. The daughter of Poseidon smiled apologetically at the Lord of the Dead. "Sorry about that. He gets excited over anything mechanical."

"A child of Hephaestus, I presume?" Hades noted indifferently, and Bri nodded.

Nico clasped his hands together and blew his dark, shaggy hair out of his eyes. My heart did a little flip inside my chest, just like when I realized Nico and I had been holding hands, but I ignored it.

"So, we need a game plan." The son of Hades said, looking pointedly at me. "And there's no one better to do it than a daughter of Athena."

I allowed a grin to creep up on to my face. "You can count on me."

Hades leaned back in his throne. "Very well then. Son, would you like to use your old bedroom as a meeting room?"

Nico nodded and turned to the direction where I presumed his bedroom was, but Bri stopped us. "Lord Hades, sir? Could we have a map of the Underworld? I mean, so we know where to look?"

The Lord of the Dead nodded and a parchment scroll materialized in his hand. He tossed it to Nico, who caught it with ease. We then made our way down the dark, depressing hallway into an even more dark and depressing bedroom.

"Wow, talk about a morale-booster." Leo commented as he stepped into the room, readjusting Bri on his back.

The daughter of the sea god just rolled her eyes and whacked the back of Leo's head.

"Ouch!"

Nico's old bedroom was pretty much all black (no surprise there). A black bed was shoved up against a black wall, and a black desk sat on the black floor next to the black rug. Jeez, talk about dreary.

Leo set Bri down on the floor, and the son of Hephaestus settled next to her. Nico and I sat across from them and he spread out the map across the floor.

We each studied the map for a few seconds before discussing.

"Okay, so first of all, there are five rivers in the Underworld. The Styx, the Lethe, the Acheron, the Phlegethon, and the Cocytus." Bri pointed to each river in turn.

"We all know the Styx. Then there's the Lethe, which is the river of Forgetfulness, right?" Nico asked, glancing at me. I nodded and smiled, pointing out the River Acheron. "Acheron is the river of Woe, while the Phlegethon is the river of Fire and Cocytus is the river of lamentation." I added.

Leo and Nico both looked confused, simultaneously asking, "Lamentation?"

I rolled my eyes. "River of Cries, you pansycakes." **(Tell me what book that's from and you'll get a shout out as well. Hint: It's not a PJO or HOO book)**

Both boys still looked extremely confused, but apparently decided to let it go. I laughed and turned back to the map.

"So where do we know to find the thief?" Bri asked.

I thought for a moment. "We don't, unless we figure out who the thief is."

Leo perked up at this, brown eyes shining with excitement. "I can ask Hades to hack into the security cameras to find footage."

Bri smiled. "Smartest thing you've said all day." She said, which caused Leo puff his chest out in what I presumed was an attempt at being 'macho'. It didn't really work.

Briana rolled her eyes whacked him again, resulting in another "Ow!" from the son of Hephaestus.

"So we have a plan." Nico said. "Now we just need to ask my father for permission to hack into the cameras. I would suggest we just ask nicely to see the footage, but seeing as we're kind of in a hurry, hacking would be better."

And with that, we set off back down the hallway, the plan fresh in our minds.

* * *

**I think it was definitely longer than last chapter. See the plot really falling into place now? I have it all planned out. MUAHAHAHAHA.**

**Quote Trivia:**

**"I got Nobody!"**

**Review who said it in which PJO/HOO book to get a shout out!**

**Good night my lovelies!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	17. Security Hackers

**A/N: Hey ya'll! I present the next chapter of Daughter of the Sea!**

**Shout out time! Those who gave me the correct answer of Polyphemus from the Sea of Monsters for Quote Trivia:**

**Mila-is-a-bookworm-101**

**girlrobin99**

**Aliceaurora**

**radicallestguest**

**Ssj4mars**

**Folan00**

**PurpleRoseFromYou**

**AWESOMENESS**

**Team Leo**

**greekgeek114**

**athenasgirll104**

**OMGIluvreading**

**Great job guys! Ya'll guessed it!**

**Another shout out to bellarox2002, for correctly saying that 'Pansycake' was a Divergent reference. Awesome!**

**And to athenasgirll104, to answer your question: My favorite PJO or HoO book ever... Hmm. This is a hard one, because I love them all. It would have to be a tie between The Lightning Thief, because that's where it all started, The Last Olympian, because PERCABETH! And the Mark of Athena, for a lot of reasons.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO! I only own the OC's!**

* * *

~Briana~

By the time we got to the throne room again, my ankle had somewhat healed. Leo wouldn't have to carry me anymore, but he held my hand anyway.

We approached Hades, who was lounging on his throne of bones. I noticed that the slightly smaller throne next to his was occupied by a woman who I assumed was Persephone. Her silky black hair was pulled back in a half up-half down kind of hairstyle, and her multicolored eyes scanned over my friends and I. Her intense gaze was unsettling. It reminded me of how an evil dictator might look at his or her citizens.

"Yes, demigods?" Hades spoke up from his throne in a cold tone. Nico quickly explained our findings, and that we would need permission to hack into the security cameras.

Hades simply nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. Despite his lack of hostility, I still found his presence to be quite intimidating; of course, there's that aura of fear, and the fact that he's five times my height to consider.

"Swear on the River Styx that you'll allow us to hack the system." Nico crossed his arms.

Hades raised an eyebrow at his son, as if beckoning him to speak.

Nico sighed. "Remember that time you put Percy Jackson in prison? This time I'm making you swear a legitimate oath."

Hades's gaze hardened. "You do not trust me, son."

This was probably stupid of me to do, but I stepped up and said, "Just swear the damn oath."

I blame the ADHD.

"Watch it, child," Hades growled. "I should obliterate you for simply existing. Do not push your luck."

I was about to say something snappy back at my immortal uncle, but Leo slapped his hand over my mouth. I did the only mature thing I could think of. I licked his hand.

Leo jerked his hand back as I smirked, and said "Ew!"

Nico sighed. "Dad, please just let us. Without this, you won't be able to get your giant pitchfork back."

Hades looked annoyed, but finally said, "Fair enough. I swear on the River Styx to grant you permission to infiltrate the Underworld security system." The Lord of the Dead finished speaking and waved us away.

We walked in the direction of Nico's room, but he steered us down a different hallway that branched off, which I'm assuming the security room is.

As soon as we stepped in the room, I was jerked back by Leo. He was standing in place in the door frame, muttering things about how high-tech the security system is. I rolled my eyes and pulled him inside.

"So how in Hades are we supposed to hack the system? Which computer do we use?" Nico asks when we're all inside.

Leo walks by each computer, putting a hand on top of each one in turn. Using his son-of-Hephaestus abilities, I presume. Finally, he stops by the second to last one, grins, and pulls over a chair. "This is the one."

He sits in the chair and starts typing away at the computer. I blow the dark brown bangs out of my eyes and adjust my belt where the hilt of my dagger was poking into my skin.

After about half a minute, Leo stops typing and calls us over. "Hacked it. We're in."

We all crowd around the computer while Leo accesses one of the security camera feed files. The video feed starts playing, and we all watch intently.

The alarm is blaring, and I could just barely see a figure weaving between dead souls in the Fields of Asphodel. The souls don't even bother to reprimand the escapee. The video switches to another camera, this one apparently in one of those depressing-looking cypress trees in the Fields of Asphodel. A hooded figure comes into view, holding Hades's two-pointed gigantic fork. I can tell whoever it is is dead, but how would a soul steal something from Hades?

Plus, it was in the prophecy. The one who has taken their final breath. Obviously someone who's already dead.

I watch as the thief looks over their shoulder and curses. They take off, getting lost among the throngs of depressed souls.

"Well," Sarah said, after a minute. "At least we know where to look."

I nodded. "Somewhere in the Fields of Asphodel. Doesn't help much, but it's a start."

After a few minutes of trying to drag Leo away from the computers, we finally make it back to Nico's room to prepare ourselves for some Underworld hiking.

I make sure my dagger is strapped to my belt. Damn it, I remembered that I didn't bring my bow and arrows. Oh well.

Leo takes a baggie of ambrosia from one of our backpacks and it vanishes into his tool belt. I still think that's extremely cool.

Sarah has her dagger as well, and of course, Goth Boy has his Stygian Iron sword.

We set out of Hades's palace, our shoes echoing off the polished black floor. It only took us a matter of seconds before we were standing just outside the Fields of Asphodel.

Sarah crossed her arms and took a step into the Fields. "Let's do this."

Note to Self: The Fields of Asphodel is not a great place to look for an escaped thief.

For one: This place is HUGE. Tall yellow grass and clusters of cypress trees go as far as the eye can see, but I can still hear the tortured screams coming from the Fields of Punishment, and the smell of fresh burgers from Elysium and the Isles of the Blest. Which reminds me, why do dead people need to eat anyways? Okay, sorry. Getting off topic.

The second reason: It has to be virtually impossible to find a certain individual out here, let alone a see-through spirit in a cloak. Crowds of the dead were milling about, chattering to themselves. They figured out pretty quickly that we couldn't understand them, and left us alone.

So we just wandered through the trees and tall waving grass, searching for someone we could possibly never find.

* * *

**Ready for Quote Trivia? I decided to give you guys an easy one, since I'm feeling generous and I'm tired. **

**"I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe."**

**Review who said it in which PJO or HoO book and you'll get a shoutout! Until next time, my lovelies!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	18. Dark Caves Aren't Fun

**A/N: Hello my lovelies! Here's the next chappie of Daughter of the Sea!**

**First, though, is the shout outs! All those who gave me the correct answer of Percy Jackson in the book The Lightning Thief for Quote Trivia!**

**Mila-is-a-bookworm101**

**OMGIluvreading**

**Team Leo**

**PurpleRoseFromYou**

**Petalflame**

**AWESOMENESS**

**Aliceaurora**

**Tazmaster**

**AlexandriaDiAngelo**

**And a couple of Guests.**

**Great job guys!**

**And I did get a review about Nico's age in this fanfic. Well, yes, in response to that review, I have read the books, multiple times each. And this fanfic takes place after HoO, so in this fanfic, Nico is fifteen/sixteen years old, since, in MoA, the book distinctly says that Nico is fourteen. So yes, I DO have his age right. Just thought I should address that issue.**

**Thanks for your support, guys! I mean, 121 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU GUYS! Thanks SOOOO MUCH! You don't know how much this means to me. I know that people don't typically like stories with OC's as two of the main characters, but you guys supported me through 18 chapters!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstances, own the rights to Percy Jackson. If I did, I wouldn't be on FanFiction, now would I?**

* * *

~Leo~

The Fields of Asphodel is the absolute worst place to look for... well, just about anything.

We started off having Nico ask the shades of the dead where the mysterious figure went, but quickly figured out that despite the fact that Nico, as Hades's son, could understand them, they did not have any useful information.

I could tell Bri was nervous, and I don't blame her. I mean, a daughter of Poseidon, in Hades's realm, when Hades had already threatened her once? Not fun.

I grabbed her hand, threaded our fingers together, and gave her hand a squeeze. She sent me a grateful smile and squeezed back.

"Do you think we'll be able to find the thief?" She asked me. I grinned at her. "Please. I make kick-ass tacos. I'm pretty sure we can find a little thief."

She rolled her eyes but smiled, and I wrapped one arm around her shoulder.

So Bri, Sarah, Nico and I began our long, treacherous journey through the cypress trees (it's not really treacherous, I just thought that would sound more dramatic, sue me). We were searching around, when all the sudden, Nico stopped dead in his tracks.

I noticed we were near a cave that looked like a dark hole. I came up beside Nico and whispered, "What's in the cave?"

The answer, I'll admit, scared the hell out of me.

"The entrance to Tartarus."

That's why Nico froze up. You see, when I was fifteen and Nico was fourteen, we had this really bad experience involving the Doors of Death and Tartarus. It wasn't just us. The rest of the seven aren't very keen on the mention of that place either. It brought back memories of the Giant War.

"Maybe the thief's in there." Sarah said, pointing to the cave. Bri nodded, and I almost made some smart-ass comment about a daughter of Athena not being so smart, when I remembered that you wouldn't know the entrance to Tartarus is in there unless: 1) Someone tells you, and 2) You go in there yourself.

Nico and I immediately protested. "No-" Nico said, but it was too late. Bri and Sarah were already walking towards the cave, and Nico and I had no choice but to follow.

I could only see the faintest outline of the girls moving in front of us. "I don't like this." Nico murmured, and apparently only I could hear it.

"What, mister death afraid?" I teased, only to earn one hell of a death glare from Death Boy himself.

His glare was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream and Bri shouting, "SARAH!"

Nico surged forward. "What happened?" He called out, and I could hear Bri sobbing.

"T-the hole, and s-she f-fell..."

A feeling of pure terror took me over. I couldn't imagine losing anyone in this group of four; Sarah's like a sister to me.

Nico probably looked worse then I did. "WHAT?!" He shouted, his voice full of concern, sheer horror, and surprise. Relief washed over me when I heard Sarah's strained voice.

"I'm still here! Just hangin' on the edge of a cliff here!"

~Nico~

I immediately rushed forward and felt around the edge of the gaping hole. I could sense where it was, because it radiated fear like the sun radiates UV rays. I grabbed her hand and pulled.

Her being that close to Tartarus scared the shit out of me. I've been in situations like this before, watching Percy and Annabeth, both like siblings to me, fall. This was just as painful, although I don't view Sarah as a sibling. The thought makes heat rise to my cheeks, but I ignore it and focus on pulling her up.

I grab her other hand, and with one last pull, Sarah collapses into me, and we both stumble away from the edge of the pit. Anger overtakes me, but I don't want to take it out on Sarah or the others. So, instead, I shout at the pit.

"STUPID PIT, DON'T EVER TRY AND TAKE MY SARAH AGAIN!"

Wait a second. Did I just say that?

I don't have time to think, because then Sarah and I are bombarded by Leo and Bri. Bri's sobbing, and she and Sarah share a hug.

"Sarah!" Bri hugs her best friend fiercely, as does Sarah to her. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, you hear?" Bri says, wiping the tears off her face. Sarah laughs half-heartedly and replies, "I won't."

I expect Leo to hug Sarah or something, but instead he picks something up off the ground and hands them to her. "Here, I think these are yours."

"Really," Sarah replies, looking at him in disbelief, "I almost fell into a pit of death, and you hand me my glasses?"

Leo nods and Bri facepalms. "Leo!"

"I think we should go." I pointed out, already sick of this place. I started walking towards the exit, and I heard the others doing the same.

Leo walked up beside me. "Dude, you are so whipped." He whispered, and I felt my face burning. Good thing it's dark in here.

I didn't reply, but thought about my mixed up feelings instead. Do I like Sarah? I mean, she's pretty—no, beautiful—and can kick any monster's ass. She's also really intelligent, of course, being a daughter of Athena. We'd only known each other for a couple of weeks, and I'd already spilled the story of my sister, Bianca, to her. I never talked about that. But the thing is, I trusted her enough to tell her. So I like Sarah. Is that a crime?

We walk out of the cave and into the 'light', of course, being in the Underworld, it's not actual light. Sarah immediately collapses on the grass, head in her hands. "All my fault..." She murmurs.

I kneel down beside her. "Hey, it's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I should've told you what was in there."

She shook her head. "No. I should've listened to you when you said not to go in there."

"No. It's my fault, Sarah. Let's just get this quest over with, okay?" I say while rubbing soothing circles on her back. She nods slightly and allows me fo help her up, the first time she's ever looked vulnerable since she came to camp.

I could understand why, though. Tartarus radiates fear and has a sort of magnetic pull to it, so the experience is terrifying. I just hope nothing else on this quest goes wrong.

* * *

**Ooooooooh. Drama! What did you guys think?**

**Quote Trivia:**

**"You didn't deserve Asphodel. You should be with the heroes!"**

**Tell me in a review who said in in which PJO or HoO book and you'll get a shout out! **

**IMPORTANT NEWS: I'm forming a new schedule for my updates. It'll be easier to maintain, ya know, with school and whatnot. I'll update this story every Tuesday, and I'll update Royally Screwed every Wednesday, starting next week. Although, I might not post the next chapter of this story next Tuesday, because, as we all know, HOUSE OF HADES COMES OUT NEXT TUESDAY! YAY!**

**Until chapter 19, my lovelies!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	19. Wild Goose Chase?

**A/N: Hello my lovelies! I was planning to stick to my schedule and update on Tuesday, but then I got House of Hades on my Nook... so you see where that went. I LOVED HOUSE OF HADES. I finished it in first period the day after it came out. No joke.**

**I also had a nine paragraph essay on The Odyssey due yesterday, so I needed to work on that too.**

**Anyway, shout out time!**

**Here's all those who gave the correct answer of Frank from the Son of Neptune!**

**AWESOMENESS**

**Aliceaurora**

**OMGIluvreading**

**greekgeek114**

**Wolfen**

**Guest (idk which guest this is, so if this is you, give yourself a pat on the back)**

**Great job guys! Now, I kinda have a lengthy AN, okay? Bear with me.**

*****HOUSE OF HADES SPOILERS DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE READ HOH*****

**So we all find out in HoH that Nico's gay and Leo fell in love with Calypso. Well, in this story, I'm pretending neither of those things happened. In this story, Nico's straight and Leo never fell for Calypso, because 1) It would be too complicated and weird to write all that stuff in, and 2) It would spoil HoH for those who haven't read it yet.**

*****SPOILERS OVER*****

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, trust me. I doubt Rick is a fourteen year old girl with no life.**

* * *

~Sarah~

My mind was numb.

It wasn't necessarily the almost-falling-into-Tartarus part that terrified me the most. It was that I had dreamt about it first. Annabeth had told me that demigod dreams are bad, but not that bad.

It was exactly like my dream. The whispers, the overwhelming darkness, everything. It was freaky how alike the dream and reality were. I could still hear my heart pounding against my rib cage, and could still feel the sweat forming on my forehead from where I strained to keep from falling.

My hand still hurt from hanging on to the ledge by my fingertips. I used my other hand to gently massage my fingers to try and get them to stop aching. Apparently Nico noticed this, because he grabbed my hand and ran his fingers over my knuckles. For a son of Hades, his hand was pretty warm. I just hope he couldn't see the blush forming on my cheeks.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. I like Nico. I can't exactly deny it, mostly because it's true.

I hate admitting things.

"So when are we actually going to find anything?" Leo asked in an annoyed voice after ten minutes of walking in silence. "My feet feel like a horde of tap dancers decided to dance on them."

Bri rolled her eyes. "Great analogy, Flame Boy."

The son of Hephaestus crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at her. Real mature, Leo.

"He's right, though," Nico said from his position to my left. "We haven't come across any clues, and we've been walking for ten minutes."

"True," I brushed a stray strand of strawberry blonde hair behind my ear with my free hand. "This is like trying to catch the Teumessian Fox." I remarked. Leo and Nico looked at me in confusion, while I could see that Bri already knew what I was talking about.

I rolled my eyes. "Learn your Greek mythology. The Teumessian Fox is a mythological fox that is destined to never be caught."

"Ohhhhhhhhh." The boys said simultaneously. Nico poked me on the nose. "Genius, you are."

I scrunched my nose from the poke and resisted the urge to blush madly. Daughters of Athena don't blush.

"Anyway," Bri said, coming to my rescue. "We still don't have any clues on where to look."

Nico glared off into the distance, as if trying to pulverize one of the dead-looking cypress trees. "It's almost like a wild goose chase."

On that happy note, we kept walking, falling into another deafening silence. Nico still held my hand in his, and Bri and Leo mirrored us.

The tall grass brushed against my calves, making me want to scratch them every five seconds.

I don't know if we'll ever find the solution to this problem. As a daughter of the wisdom goddess, I don't like admitting to defeat, but Nico did make a point. This is like a wild goose chase.

Wild goose chase.

_Wild goose chase._

Wait a second.

"Guys," I said, stopping dead in my tracks. "What if this really _is_ a wild goose chase?"

Bri stopped too, effectively jerking Leo back, since they were holding hands. The daughter of Poseidon looked at me thoughtfully. "Maybe you're right."

Nico seemed to be considering it. "But what about the video feed?" He asked. "That looked pretty real to me."

"Someone could have staged it." I pointed out. "Think about it. The only evidence we have is the fact that that oversized fork is gone, and that video Leo pulled up."

I let them take that in. Leo nodded slowly. "If this person had allegiances in the Underworld, it would explain why the security system didn't catch them."

"Wow," Nico looked at me in awe. "You really are a genius."

I giggled, but coughed slightly to cover it up when Nico looked at me strangely. He knows I don't normally giggle. Wow, I have to learn to control myself around this guy. I poked him in the arm and said, "I know."

Nico smirked at me. "Getting cocky are we?"

I shrugged and smirked back. "Only for you, Death Boy."

"Only for me, huh?" Nico's amazingly black hair fell over his equally black eyes.

"Okay, can you two stop flirting? You're weirding me out." Leo complained. I don't who whose face was redder: Nico's or mine.

Bri smacked Leo on the arm and he flinched. "Machine Brain!" she whisper-yelled while Leo just smiled sheepishly. "We flirt all the time and you never complain!"

"That's different!"

"How?!"

"We're actually together! I mean yeah, they're going to get together eventually, but still!"

"Why don't you just be quiet?"

I tuned out their argument and looked at Nico like, really?

He looked back at me like, I know right. I love Bri and Leo, and their arguing is pretty adorable (so I think they're a cute couple. Sue me), but this was getting pretty annoying.

We turned around and headed back in the direction of Hades's palace upon silent agreement. Bri and Leo followed behind us, still arguing about the concept of flirting.

Nico let go of my hand, and I immediately missed his warmth. But I didn't have to miss it for long, because he casually draped his arm across my shoulder, pulling me closer to him ever so slightly. My stomach exploded in butterflies, and I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, but I suppressed it and leaned into him.

I expected Nico to be cold, as a son of Hades, but he was surprisingly warm. We fit together like two puzzle pieces. Bri and Leo didn't even acknowledge our position, probably because they were still arguing. I glanced back and was surprised to see that Leo was running and smiling, carrying Bri on his back, who was laughing hysterically. I swear those two are perfect for each other.

"Those two are insane." Nico said, and I shivered at his warm breath on my neck. I hadn't realized how close we really were.

"Agreed." I said bluntly and leaned my head on his shoulder, deciding to be daring. I felt elated when he didn't pull away, but pulled me closer instead.

I loved this. I never really had anyone who pulled me close to them just for the heck of it. My mom, of course, is an Olympian goddess, and my dad… well, my dad was never home. I usually just jacked his credit card in order to feed myself, and get new clothes. I must have spent hundreds of dollars, but he never cared. I had felt pretty lonely my entire life, that is, until I got on Broadway.

I know fifteen is pretty young to be on Broadway, but I tried to follow in my role model's footsteps, Lea Michelle. She was on Broadway when she was eight. I don't think fifteen is too bad.

When I got on Broadway, I felt as if I finally had a family. An acting family. Then Bri came along, helping design sets, the hydra attacked, and here I am.

Now I have a real family, even Tiffany (who I'd peg as the annoying and bitchy cousin). Bri's like a sister to me, and Leo is almost like a brother. Nico… I feel like I can trust him with anything, which is kind of new to me, since I've never trusted many people before.

As long as I have Nico by my side, I can do anything.

* * *

**Awww! Nicarah fluffiness! I don't know about you, but I personally loved this chapter. Sarah's been pressuring me for hours about posting this today.**

**How about some Quote Trivia? Here we go!**

**"Dreams like a podcast, **

**downloading truth in my ears. **

**They tell me cool stuff."**

**Review who said this in which PJO or HoO book, and get a shout out! **

**Another way to get a shout out is to do or say something absolutely super-duper-really-truly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! (I LOVE THAT WORD)**

**Until chapter 20, my lovelies!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	20. Demeter's Obsession With Cereal

**A/N: Happy Tuesday, my lovelies!**

**Yeah, not really. I skipped school today because I caught some kind of stomach bug or something. Not fun.**

**Anyways, for anyone who just finished HoH, refer back to my previous chapter's AN.**

**Now for shout outs! Those who gave me the correct answer of Apollo in the Titan's Curse:**

**AWESOMENESS (By the way, your compliment did appease him!)**

**greekgeek114**

**Guest**

**Aliceaurora**

**Awesome job, peeps! Now, on to ze chapter! Apollo, would you mind doing the disclaimer?**

**Apollo: Now for a Haiku!**

**Everyone: *groans***

**Apollo:**

**Percy Jackson is**

**A legend that Bri does not**

**Own any rights to.**

**Everyone: MY EARS**

* * *

~Briana~

Hades and Persephone both still sat in their thrones, looking dreary. Not that I blame them; the Underworld is a pretty drab place, what with its black walls and Greek-fire torches.

There was another woman in the room, and I assumed her to be Demeter, Persephone's mother. She was wearing a green Greek-style dress and was holding a box of Special K cereal.

"Mother! For the last time, I do not want any cereal!"

"It's nutritious! Both you and your chump husband should eat more cereal!"

Hades rubbed his temples, like Demeter's and Persephone's arguing was giving him a migraine. Probably was. "Ladies," Hades growled, "can we please settle this matter later? My son and his… friends… are here."

Persephone stopped arguing and fixed us with a glare, like she wanted to turn us all into lilacs. Demeter glanced at us and muttered under her breath, "Those kids need more cereal."

Nico visibly shivered at the idea of being fed cereal. Poor guy probably had to stuff himself with cereal every time he came down here while Demeter was visiting her daughter. I tried to imagine having to eat cereal everyday. I shivered. Leo, from his facial expression, looked like he was having the same thought.

Hades rolled his black eyes and turned to us. "What do you need, son?"

Nico ignored Persephone's piercing glare and stepped forward. Though he was probably used to it, being her step-son, who also happened to be a demigod. "We think we were sent on a wild goose chase."

Hades raised an eyebrow, sitting up straight in his throne. "Why do you say that? Did you not find my weapon?"

"Your oversized fork is still here." Leo spoke up from his position next to me. I mentally facepalmed. You don't call a god's weapon an 'oversized fork' in front of him. Then again, it's Leo.

Sarah took that as her invitation to speak. "Someone from inside the palace caused a diversion by staging the robbery," Sarah explained. Persephone shifted in her seat, looking rather uncomfortable. Nico smiled at Sarah, who looked away, cheeks red. I smirked to myself. I'd have to play matchmaker later.

"Preposterous." Persephone snapped, glaring at us yet again.

"Those kids need cereal." Demeter decided.

Hades sighed. "Quiet, Demeter. Who could have possibly stolen it?"

Sarah hesitated. "That's the part we don't know. We never saw the person's face on the camera." She said, looking frustrated. I knew that she hated not knowing things. I guess it's an Athena trait or something.

"Now, Hades," Demeter scolded, "your son's friends need more respect than coming in here and claiming things. They need to eat more cereal. I have five extra boxes in the kitchen."

"That's okay, Lady Demeter, you don't need to-" Nico started, but Demeter vanished in an explosion of grain, which smacked Hades across the face.

Hades rolled his eyes and faced us. "I hope you demigods like cereal."

Great, so now we're actually going to have to eat a goddess's cereal. I wonder if she has Lucky Charms.

"I hope she brings Coco Puffs." Leo muttered in my ear, and I had to stifle a giggle. Imagine Leo hyped up on Coco Puffs. Not pretty.

Nico muttered, "Great, not again. Every time I come here…" he lowered his voice and continued muttering things about cereal under his breath.

Demeter reappeared with five different cereal boxes and seven bowls of milk. Leo eyed the cereal warily. "You got any Coco Puffs?"

Demeter scoffed and popped open a box of gluten free honey nut Chex. "Certainly not. Not enough protein."

"So no Lucky Charms either?" I questioned.

"Too much sugar."

"How about-" Leo started.

"Okay, can we get back to the issue at hand, please?" Hades exclaimed, exasperated. Demeter huffed and sat back in her throne with the cereal boxes on her lap.

Persephone adjusted her dress with a worried gleam in her eye. She caught me looking and narrowed her eyes.

Sarah and I exchanged glances, and I knew she had the same idea. "Persephone did it." Sarah exclaimed, stepping forward.

"What? But Sarah-" Nico started, but I stepped up next to her. "Sarah's right. You sent out a spirit in a cloak to make it look like the two-pronged pitchfork was stolen."

Hades and Demeter both looked shocked. Persephone was so angry she turned a torch on the wall into a yellow chrysanthemum.

"Persephone?" Hades asked his wife.

Hades's wife glared at Sarah and I. "How dare you accuse me of robbery!"

There was a flash, and where Sarah was standing was a giant pink pansy. I gasped and jumped back.

"Sarah!" Nico shrieked. Then he looked at Persephone accusingly. "Did you have to make her pink? She hates pink."

"It makes perfect sense!" Leo exclaimed. Catching a glare from Nico, he held his hands up in surrender. "Persephone being guilty, not Sarah being a pink flower."

Persephone clasped her hands. "Explain, demigod." She spat.

"Well," Leo started. "Persephone has access to the Underworld's security system, and that's why the ghost used as a diversion was never caught."

I looked at Leo incredulously. Who knew my boyfriend could be so smart?

I kissed him on the cheek and slipped my hand into his, intertwining our fingers. He squeezed my hand and smiled at me.

Persephone sighed in defeat and slumped back in her chair, which was unusual for a goddess. "Fine, yes. Everything the children said is correct."

"Persephone, my dear, why would you do it?" Hades asked in surprise.

She sat up and glared at her husband. "Simple. Attention. I mean, you kidnapped me, the least you could do is not ignore me."

"My daughter is right." Demeter agreed. This, of course, sparked an argument between the three gods in the room.

"That is no excuse to steal my weapon!"

"Then you should have never kidnapped my daughter!"

"I think it's a perfectly good excuse!"

"I told you he's not good enough for you!"

"Mother!"

"Ladies please!"

Nico interrupted them, which was a risky move if you ask me. "Can you turn my girlfr… friend back?"

Persephone paused long enough to zap Sarah back into herself. Sarah stumbled right into Nico, and he caught her.

"Jeez," She breathed. "Being a flower feels really weird." She steadied herself using Nico's arms. Nico shook his head. "Been there, done that. I know just how you feel."

I laughed, and Nico stared at me. "Wait, you're serious?" I asked in disbelief. Nico shrugged. "Yeah. She turned me into a sunflower during the second Titan War."

Leo slung his arm around my shoulder. "I think we did pretty stinkin' awesome."

"Well, what happened while I was a flower?" Sarah asked, still looking discombobulated. Nico quickly explained what had happened in the throne room moments before.

Sarah raised her eyebrow, looking angry. "I was a pink pansy?!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Sar. You were a pink pansy. So how are we gonna get back to camp?"

"Shadow-travel." Nico said immediately. Leo, Sarah and I all groaned. "Can we at least stop for food on the way back?" Leo asked.

"NO TACOS!"

Leo took a step back. "Okay, fine. Then how about Arby's?"

We all agreed. Sarah grabbed my hand that Leo wasn't holding. Nico put his arm around her shoulders, and we melted into the shadows.

* * *

**Awesomeness!**

**I can't believe there's only three or four chapters left *sniffle***

**Next on Quote Trivia:**

**"Her name is Annabeth, and she's one of a kind."**

**Review who said it in what book, and get a shout out!**

**Until chapter 21, my lovelies!**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


	21. Welcome Home!

**A/N: HAPPY ALLEGIANT DAY! Yes, Allegiant, the third book in the Divergent Trilogy, came out today! ME NEED IT.**

**On another note, it's shout out time! Haha, I stumped most of you guys on this QT. The correct answer could have been either Percy in the Staff of Hermes, or Percy in the Demigod Diaries; I'll take either one. There was only three who got this right:**

**Aliceaurora**

**Mila-is-a-bookworm-101**

**OMGIluvreading**

**Fantastic job to the three of you!**

**Leo: I say this deserves a song!**

**Me: Leo no-**

**Leo: THIS BOY IS ON FIIIIIRRREEEEE!**

**Me: Ugh. If you're gonna be adorably annoying, at least do the disclaimer.**

**Leo: Bri does not own the rights to PJatO or HoO! She also does not own Arby's!**

* * *

~Leo~

It's very strange just seeing regular mortals sitting around eating Arby's, like Persephone had never sent us on a wild goose chase. Of course, the mortals didn't know about it, but still.

It's also a very strange feeling to have said mortals stare at you the entire time you're ordering your food. Although, to be fair to the mortals, I'm sure the four of us, to put it lightly, didn't look too great. I, myself, probably have leftover monster dust smeared on my face, along with dirt and grass from the Fields of Asphodel and our interesting night in Utah. Bri still had pine needles stuck in her hair from where she fell out of the tree. Dirt was smeared on her cheeks and she had red scratches on her arms, but she still looked beautiful to me.

Sarah and Nico both had their fair share of scratches and angry red marks on their skin, but for the most part look about as great as Bri and I do. Nico needs to hurry up and ask her out. When even I can see the chemistry between those two (and I'm not usually one to notice romance besides my own), that's when I know they need to get together already.

"Welcome to Arby's, may I take your order?" The lady at the cash register greeted our unusual little group. "Yeah, I'll have a combo three... what do you guys want?"

After we all ordered and got our food, paying with Sarah's dad's hijacked credit card, we sat down in a booth in the corner of the small restaurant. Bri immediately snatched her burger and bit into it, stuffing her mouth full. I laughed, accidentally snorting as well, and she glared at me. I raised my hands in defeat. Personally, I thought it was cute.

"It's weird," Nico said, "I mean, we solve a god-sized wild goose chase in the Underworld, and now we're sitting in Arby's eating like four mortal teenagers. Why couldn't we go to McDonald's?" Sarah smacked him on the arm. "Because you would buy like ten Happy Meals to summon the dead. Not happening, Death Boy."

I snickered. "You use Happy Meals to summon the dead? Why don't you use... like, Unhappy Meals or something, since the dead aren't usually, well, _happy_?"

Bri rolled her eyes at my suggestion and swallowed her burger. "Because Unhappy Meals don't exist, Flame Boy. If they did, no one but Nico would buy them."

"Hey!" Nico protested, and we all laughed. Wow, it feels great to be doing something 'normal' for once.

I listened to the overhead speakers, the small ones in the ceiling, since they always have music playing in the background. I heard a familiar tune, and I got a ridiculous grin on my face. Bri must have heard it too, because she narrowed her eyes at me. "Don't even think about it, Valdez."

I ignored her and grinned even wider. "THIS IS MY JAM!"

Bri rolled her eyes while Sarah and Nico looked confused. They must not have heard the music. Oh well, they will soon.

"THIS GIRL IS ON FIIIIIIRREEEEE!" I sang terribly. Bri flicked me on the side of the head. I pouted and she laughed and kissed me. Instead of allowing her to pull away. I deepened it, tangling my hands in her long brown hair.

"Okay, can we keep the PDA to a minimum please?" Sarah said, looking awkward, as did Nico.

We pulled away and smirked. "Oh, this boy is definitely on fire." I commented, and Bri smacked her forehead.

Nico and Sarah snickered. "Can we just get back to camp now? I uh... have something to do." Nico said. I raised my eyebrow, smirking, and I swear Nico turned bright red.

We all grabbed hands, and melted into the shadows. We hurtled through the darkness, my face feeling like it was peeling off.

At last we landed on solid ground. I stumbled a bit, but quickly regained what little balance I had.

I glanced around, and, upon seeing the Big House and the strawberry fields, came to the conclusion that we had appeared on Half-Blood Hill, in the shadows of Thalia's Tree.

Immediately we all tackled each other in hugs, as one big group of four. Has anyone told you that it feels good to be alive after a quest?

"We did it, Leo! We completed a quest a made it home!" She threw her arms around my neck as mine went around her waist, and we kissed for the first time at camp. As usual, this made my brain practically turn to mush.

"Uh, Bri, Leo?"

We broke away, and I saw Percy and Annabeth running up the hill. Percy looked plain shocked. "Since when did this happen?"

Bri stuttered, since I was pretty much incapable of speaking at the moment. "We... uh... I... on the quest."

Percy turned his gaze back to me, and I wanted to shrink out of existence. "If you ever even think about hurting my sister, I swear to Zeus—"

"Percy!" Bri yelled in frustration.

"Seaweed Brain, stop it. You don't want my older brother doing this to you, right?" Annabeth pointed out. _Thank you scary blonde!_

Percy sighed in defeat. "Fine. But remember, Valdez—"

"I won't hurt her, Percy." I said, finally finding my voice. The things Bri does to me.

Percy looked satisfied by my answer, thankfully. Since when had he been the protective older brother type?

Annabeth and Sarah hugged, and Annabeth said something that made both Sarah and Nico blush.

"I... uh... gotta go... walk... my new pet turtle! Yeah that's it, gotta go bye!" Nico said in a rush, and dashed off in the direction of his cabin.

"Nico doesn't have a pet turtle." Sarah said, frowning.

"What's up with him?" Bri asked, using her thumb to point over her shoulder to where Nico had zipped off.

I wondered what was up too. Nico's normally not one to stutter at all. Usually he's all dark and grim and depressed and stuff. Oh well. At the moment, I'm just glad to be home.

I slung my arm around Bri's shoulders, and she snuggled up to my chest. I smiled down at her. Sarah grinned at us. "Meet you guys at the campfire. I'm gonna go see what's up with Nico."

We both bid her goodbye and walked in the direction of Bunker Nine. I was seriously itching to get back there, to get my hands working on something again.

It was a surprisingly short walk, somewhat filled with jokes, giggles, and stolen kisses. I pressed my hand to the side of the cliff, and fiery red lines spread out from my fingertips. The huge granite doors opened silently, per usual, and we strolled in.

It looked the same as I had left it a few days ago. The tables along the walls were scattered with blueprints and sketches of machines waiting to be discovered. My crayon drawing of the Argo II was still pinned up on the wall.

I immediately started carefully sorting through various blueprints until I found something of interest. "Bri, can you help me?"

"Sure," she said, smiling. "What are we looking for?"

"Oh, just something interesting for me to build."

"You could make an automatic taco maker."

I paused. How does this chick know me so well? "Now _that's_ an idea. You little genius you." I poked her nose as I talked and pulled her in by the waist. She leaned forward, brushing her lips over mine, then she was gone.

"Race you to the lava wall!"

I laughed out loud and chased after her, momentarily forgetting about the taco machine. It was just good to be home.

* * *

**Yay for Camp Half-Blood! I apologize for Leo's OOCness, but I was just in a strange mood when I wrote this. **

**Next Quote Trivia:**

**"Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?"**

**Remember, review who said it in which PJO or HoO book and get a shout out!**

**Oh yeah, another thing, when Leo goes, "THIS IS MY JAM!" in the story, and later Nico says he has to walk his pet turtle: Can anyone tell me where that's from? Hint: It's a TV show. Sarah, you cannot answer this. MUAHAHAHA.**

**~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out!**


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